Ryan Blutch
by LaurenRoover
Summary: When Rick runs after Sophia in the first episode of season 2, he kills two walkers. He almost gets himself killed by a third walker sneaking up behind him. Suddenly this guy with a fireaxe saves his ass. Ryan joins the Atlanta group, and seems to be more than just some guy, he has dark secrets that might have something to do with everything that's happening...Beth/Ryan
1. Chapter 1: Robin Hood

**Hello, everybody! **

**This is a fanfiction about my own character meeting the beloved Atlanta group in season 2. Please review if you got the time, let me know what you think or what you would like to happen in the story!**

**(Disclaimer; I dont own the Walking dead)**

_Chapter 1:_

I leaned back against the tree. I was tired as fuck. I had been running for two weeks, and I was still not save. I needed to find a place to hide, and fast. I couldn't go on like this for ever. I searched in my backpack. _Yep, literally running on fumes. _

"Damn it."

I had no food left. I wasn't a guy that eats 24/7, but no one could go further in this heat without food, water…

I looked through my binocular. I could see the highway, coming from Atlanta. It looked like a graveyard. All the cars were abandoned, upside down, bruised or burned out. Cars of people who didn't make it out in time. Those people were now probably walking around like undead cannibals. Wait, if you're a walker and you eat humans, are you still a cannibal? It got me wondering for a while. I mean, in fact walkers are not so different then us. They have the same organs and the same needs, but they don't die, unless you smash in their brains. And they still live if you chop off their heads. That happened to me yesterday. I smiled as I looked at my red fire-axe. It saved my life a million times, it's way more better than guns. Yesterday I got surprised by a lonely walker in the woods, and wanted to smash it's head in, like I had done a million times. But I accidently chopped off his head, and it fell on the ground. His jaws opened and closed, trying to get a bite out of my toe. It scared the shit out of me.

I was still laughing about my stupid actions, when I noticed a man running past the tree. He was wearing a white shirt and brown pants, and looked sweaty and dirty, like he had laid under a stone or something. Behind him, there were two walkers. I immediately knew this guy was in trouble. He didn't carry a gun, the smartass. It could mean he was really dumb, or he was holding up somewhere. Maybe he had some food.

I put my stuff back in my backpack, pulled my axe out of the tree and climbed down. I followed the two walkers quietly, with my axe ready to attack. I circled around them, keeping them in my sight. I saw the man standing behind a tree, picking up a stone. He took down the first walker, with a lot of anger in his movements. When the walker didn't move he got up and threw the stone at the second walker. I got closer to the tree, and heard the man smashing in the head. Suddenly, a third walker approached. I started running, the walker got closer to the man. I held up my axe and let it fall down on the head, at the same time the walker grabbed the man by his shoulder. The skull cracked and the walker grumbled ones more, and then fell down on the ground. The man turned around, his blue eyes shocked. I pulled my axe out of the broken skull and wiped the blood of the blade.

"Eh, hey, man" I said awkwardly. "I saw you were in trouble and figured you needed a hand."

The man stood up, a bit unstable on his feet. I grabbed his arm, to prevent him from falling down.

"He, man, you're alright?" I asked, a bit worried. What if he was bitten?

"I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just…." He pointed at the walker. I absolutely understood what he meant. Killing isn't fun, it's horrible. Killing a walker is beyond horrible. It's the most scary thing in the world, and each time is different.

"I know what you mean" I said, leading him away from the corpses.

"Thank you" the man said. "Thank you for saving my life."

"Well, I guessed you would do the same for me" I said, hoping to cheer him up. "We're all stuck in the same mess, we're all trying to survive."

The man nodded and smiled sadly.

"Rick Grimes" he said, as he held out his hand.

"Ryan Blutch." We shook hands. Rick seemed to calm down, but suddenly his face changed.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to get back to the high way" he said. He turned around and walked west.

"You're going to the wrong direction" I warned him. "The high way's that way."

Rick laughed at himself.

"I'm a bit disorientated. Can you take me there? On my way here, I left alone a little girl, I need to get back to her."

"Yes, yes of course. Where did you left her?"

"Somewhere under a tree, with a ditch nearby."

"I don't know exactly what you're talking about, but I can see you footsteps in the ground, so that will lead us to the place"

Rick nodded.

"Let's go."

We were walking for a while when Rick suddenly stopped. I turned around. He looked at something behind me. I turned around, and I heard footsteps in the grass and I saw branches moving.

"Quick, behind the tree!" I pushed him behind the tree and I started climbing. I wanted to pull Rick up, but suddenly I heard voices.

"Rick, you here?" It was a manly voice, coming from the woods. More footsteps followed.

"Yes, I'm here. I'm alright!" Rick shouted back. "It's OK, it's my group."

So he did have a group. That means they probably had some food too. I climbed down the tree and grabbed my axe again. I always kept it as close as possible.

Out of the bush walked three men. One man that looked like he was born in the wild, with muscled arms, a crossbow and a knife at his belt. The next was a man with big shoulders, black hair and brown eyes. I recognized his face, maybe I had seen him before. I couldn't remember when. The third was an Asian guy, about my age. The last two both carried guns. The guy with black hair seemed more comfortable with it than the Asian.

All three looked relieved to see Rick was OK, but then they noticed me. The guy with the crossbow was the first to say something.

"Who are you?"

"Ryan" I answered. God, could this be more awkward?

"Ryan who?" the crossbow-guy questioned.

"He's OK, Daryl" Rick said. "Ryan just saved my life."

Daryl shut his mouth and nodded, but didn't seem impressed. I immediately considered I didn't like him.

"Where's Sophia?" the Asian guy asked.

"I left her at a safe spot" Rick said. "She should be back at the high way by now."

"We better check out your safe spot before heading back" the black haired-guy said.

"We were just on our way" Rick said.

"What about him?" Daryl asked, pointing his weapon at me. I wanted to say something about it, but shut my mouth. I didn't want any trouble.

"He's coming with us."_ Seriously, Rick, I love you._

"OK, let's go" the man with the black hair said.

"You sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked, looking at ditch.

"I left her right here" Rick said, pointing his and at the spot. "I leaded the walkers towards that direction, up the creek." He seemed so certain of his story, that it was hard to believe we were at the wrong place.

I was up in a tree again, trying to spot the little girl in the woods with my binocular. It was a hard job, but doable. I only spotted some lonely walkers far away, but no little girl. I was very high up, but still, there was a lot of green.

I heard the man with the black hair, that was named Shane, talk about the girl being scared and all. They were debating this for a long time now.

"….She did as you said, headed back to the high way" I heard Daryl saying. He seemed to be good at hunting and tracking, which would really come in handy during this search. Even I had to admit that.

"Let's spread out" he said, climbing out of the ditch. "Hey, Beast Boy, c'mon down. Yer comin' with us."

"Lucky me" I said. I put back my binocular and climbed down. Daryl sniffed, not impressed.

We walked farther, following the trail Daryl found. I could see it too, but I figured to keep a low profile with this guy. I walked at the back, with Rick in front of me.

"You can track too, right?" he asked me. I nodded.

"But I'm not very good."

"Well, at least you can" Daryl suddenly said. He kneeled down. "We just found her, but she doesn't keep going, she went of that way." He pointed to the trail that went right. That was weird.

"Why would she do that?" Glenn(Asian guy) asked.

"Maybe she saw somthin'" Shane said. "Spooked her, maybe ran off."

"Maybe a walker?" Glenn clearly didn't see the trail.

"No," I said. Daryl turned around, looking at me with an annoyed look. He then turned around.

"I don't see any other footprints either, just hers" he said, not really wanting to admit it.

"So, what do we do?" Shane asked. "We get back up?"

"No," Rick said, not wanting to give up. "It's better if you and Glenn get back to the high way. People are gonna start panicking. Let them know we're on a trail, and keep everybody calm."

"You've got others?" I asked. Daryl seemed annoyed, again.

"Yeah, up the high way" Glenn answered.

"Yes, and there a few cars blocking our way" Shane continued. "I'll keep them equipped."

Rick nodded and Shane and Glenn left. Daryl stood up.

"Well, it's just a sheriff, a monkey and me left for the girl" Daryl said sarcastically.

"You mean a sheriff, a monkey and a wanna-be Robin Hood" I said back.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting the family

**Hallo! (Dutch for 'hello')**

**Next Chapter! This chapter, Ryan will be meeting our favorite group of survivors! Will they accept them, or will they ignore him? Find out!**

**I got the suggestion to let Ryan fall in love with Beth Greene, what do you think? I like the idea, if you got other suggestions for the story, review of message me!**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead or its characters.)**

**Enjoy ;)**

_Chapter 2: Meeting the family_

We were following the trail, when we heard a sound of footsteps in the grass. Not ours.

"Get down" I whispered.

"What you think we're doin'?" Daryl sniffed.

"Keep it quiet" Rick warned. He pointed at a walker, a loner. Daryl pointed which directions to go. Rick went left and Daryl sneaked up behind him. I stayed where I was. Perhaps they didn't trust me yet. Rick draw the attention of the monster. It growled, and a second later an arrow went through its eye. I have to admit, I was impressed. I didn't say that, of course.

We walked up to the corpse and Daryl pulled out the arrow. He looked around.

"Sophiah" he shouted, with a southern-accent. It scared the shit out of me.

"What the hell man!" I said. "If you want attention, you can just ask instead of screaming!"

"Shut up, monkey." Daryl then saw Rick kneeling down by the corpse.

"What are you looking for?"

"Skin under the fingernails." He turned the corpse on its back. "He fed recently," he said, looking at the mouth of the creature.

"Well, we gotta make sure it isn't the girl" I said.

"How do we do that?" Rick asked. "Got any suggestions?"

"Cut 'm open" Daryl grinned.

"OK" Rick sighted, and he grabbed his knife.

"Yours isn't sharp enough" I said, before he cut into the belly. "It won't cut through the muscles."

"I'll do it" Daryl said, playing with his knife. "Are monkeys afraid of blood?"

"Well, this monkey went a year to medical school" I said back.

"What did you cut open? Banana's?" He grinned, as he held up his knife, standing above the corpse of the walker.

"Get this over with" Rick said, not looking comfortable in this situation. Daryl got serious, and cut through the stomach.

It was almost sunset when we reached the highway. When we walked up the hill, a group of people were waiting for us. I recognized Glenn and Shane, but the rest were strangers to me. Before I could introduce myself, a woman with short hair ran up to Rick.

"You didn't find her?" she said desperately.

"Her trail went cold" Rick said, like that would calm her down. "We'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't leave my daughter alone" the woman said, almost crying "at night in the woods."

"Searching at night would not work" Daryl said. "We just be trippin' over ourselves, more people get lost."

"She's just twelve, she can't be on her own!" the woman said, crying and almost screaming. "You didn't find anything?"

"I know this is hard, but I have to ask you not to panic" Rick said, trying to calm her down. "We know she's out there."

"And we tracked her for a while" Daryl said, like he had accomplished something amazing.

"We have to make this an organized effort" Rick said to the rest of the people. "Daryl knows the woods better than anybody, and I met a young man who can help us too."

All eyes were on me when Rick mentioned the new guy. I did not know what to do. Wave? Say hi? There was an awkward silence, until the woman with the short hair pointed at Daryl.

"Is…is that blood?"

"We took down a walker" Rick explained. The woman breathed heavenly. "There was no sign of or near Sophia."

"How can you know that?" a blonde woman asked. _(Why does she have to make this more difficult?!) _When Rick didn't answer, Daryl did.

"We cut the son of a bitch open. Made sure."

The woman sat down on the rail. A thin woman with brown hair sat down next to her, trying to calm her down.

"How could you just leave her out there?" the short-haired woman said. "How could you leave her on her own?"

"There were two walkers on us" Rick said, kneeling down in front of her. "I had to draw them off, it was her best chance."

"Rick didn't have a choice" Shane said, standing next to Rick.

"How could you? She's just a child, just a child!" The woman was really crying right now. I felt soooo awkward. These people knew what was going on, I didn't. I didn't even know their names, I didn't know who Sophia was.

"It was my only option, the only choice I could make" Rick tried, but the woman wouldn't listen.

"I'm sure nobody doubts that" Shane said. They were both trying to make this less bad, but it wasn't working.

"If it wasn't for Ryan, I wouldn't even found my way back to the highway." When Rick mentioned my name, the brown-haired woman turned around and looked at me. She did not smile, cry, or say anything, she just looked. These people seemed to have a gift for awkward situations.

"My little girl" the short-haired woman cried. "Left alone in the woods."

Rick looked at the ground, guilt on his face. He stood up, and walked away. Daryl stepped over the rail at the highway, and walked towards a motorcycle. I looked at Rick, who walked through the cars, his hands in his neck. I felt sorry for him. Nobody should live with the idea that because of you, a little girl is lost.

"Hey, Ryan, isn't it?" the brown-haired woman said to me.

"Uh, yes, Ryan Blutch." Man, this is even more awkward than the first day of high school. The woman stood up and held out her hand.

"Lori, Lori Grimes" she said. "Thanks, for saving my husband." We shook hands. I nodded. What next?

"Do you want to drink something, Ryan?" an old man asked me. "You seem a bit….dehydrated."

"That would be very nice, sir" I said. I immediately liked this man. And Lori seemed OK too. The rest of the group looked at me like if I was an infiltrator or something. Only Glenn nodded at me, with a slight smile.

The old man walked towards a camper. He invited me inside. The place was small, but comfy. There was a table and two small benches in the middle, and in the back were too beds. There was somebody laying on one of them.

"Take a seat" the old man said. "My name is Dale, if you like to know. "The man in the back is called T-dog, he's a bit…..ill."

"What's wrong with him? Did he get bit?"

"Nope" T-dog himself answered. "Cut my arm open." He looked at me. "Who are you?"

"Ryan, nice to meet you." I tried to be polite, OK?

"Don't worry about the others," Dale said. "We just had…a rough week. They'll come around."

"I understand" I said, pouring the cold water in my mouth. "Everybody's having a tough time, with all this." I looked at T-dog.

"Shall I take a look at it? Your wound, I mean? I did a year in medical school."

"Well, I guess we are very lucky to have you here, then!" Dale smiled at me.

"Do as you like" T-dog said, he seemed a bit slow of the pain. I walked over to him. He held out his arm. I immediately saw this was bad news.

"Well, I can see this was a last-minute bandage" I said.

"Say that to the redneck" he said, and laughed. I looked under the bandage, and T-dog cursed from pain.

"When did this happen?" I asked.

"This afternoon" Dale said. "Is it bad?"

"No, not yet, but it will be if this won't be cleaned up. We have to stitch it. Do you have a first aid-kit or something?"

"Yes, yes, I'll go look for it." Dale searched in every corner of the van.

"If this won't be treated by a doctor in time, you'll have a serious blood infection in a few days."


	3. Chapter 3: An evening with the leader

_Chapter 3: An evening with the leader_

The group didn't seem that bad after all. We had dinner with everyone that night. It wasn't that big of a deal, but it was nice to meet everybody. The blonde woman, who I still find a bit annoying, was called Andrea. I didn't know if I saw it wrong, but there seemed to be some tension between her and Dale. Every time she looked at him, her smile faded away and her eyes became harsh. Well, it wasn't my problem, so I didn't ask about it.

The short-haired woman was Carol. She looked sad, but tried to smile. She kept looking towards the bushes behind her, hoping to see some sign of her daughter, Sophia. I felt sorry for her. I mean, I don't have kids, but still. It sucks to know someone you love is out there, alone in the dark.

Lori and Rick seemed to have a son, I noticed later. Carl has the hair of his mother and the eyes of his father. He seemed OK to me, he was enjoying the evening. His mother wasn't. Her eyes were stuck in the direction Rick walked away. He hadn't come back yet, and I was kinda worried too.

T-dog seemed to feel a little better after I changed his bandage, but I hadn't find any help-kit. He really needed a doctor.

After dinner, everybody went to bed, and I was kinda sitting there, not knowing what to do. The group went to bed in the camper or the other cars, and I just grabbed my blanket and laid on the ground. The night was warm, and I could hear flies zooming around my ears. At some point I got sick of it, and sat up. I looked up to the sky, and saw the pretty stars shining. It was a clear evening, compared to yesterday. That day was cloudy, and I hated cloudy nights. I stood up. If I can't sleep, might as well do something useful. I started searching through the cars again, looking for supplies to help fixing T-dog's wound.

I kept searching for a while, looking through every car, when I got to a large van. I walked over to it, when I noticed a man, sitting on the top. He wasn't looking at the sky, but at his hands. He was talking to himself. I got closer, and saw this man was Rick.

"Hey, man" I said. He turn around quickly. "Sorry, didn't want to scare you. You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm, I'm fine." Rick sat down again and leaned with his elbows on his knees. "It's just….Sophia."

I climbed up on a car and pulled myself up to the top of the van. "You're worried about her?"

"Yeah that too, it's just….it's my fault."

I sat down next to him. "Don't think like that. Carol will start thinkin' like that too."

"I think she already does." Rick smiled sadly. "And she's right."

"She's just angry at first, woman always blame others first."

Rick grinned. "That's a bit harsh, you know?"

"What? It's true. I had a girlfriend once, she taught I broke her hair-straightener."

"That's somthin' else. This is serious."

"Man, you said it this afternoon; you had no other choice. You had two walkers on you, a third was on its way. I couldn't have done it any better."

I put my hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and looked at me.

"We will find her, you know. I've looked at all these people in your group, they all care about Carol and Sophia. They are willing to do whatever it takes to bring her back."

"I hope so." He turned his head to the stars again. I took my hand of his shoulder.

"I don't want to be rude or anything, but….you can't just, walk off, like you did." Finally, he seemed to be cleared in his head. He turned to me and looked pissed. That was what I wanted to accomplish. He opened his mouth, to say something.

"Just hear me out, OK? I saw you today, speaking to these people. You are their "leader", if you like it or not. If you are scared, or sad, or insecure, they are too. If you break, they do. They look up to you. And today, you terrified them. They want Sophia back just as much as you do, but with you gone, they will lose hope of finding her. You can't let that happen, OK?" I sighted. "It happened to my group. The leader wasn't stabile enough, so the group got unstable too. People couldn't trust each other anymore, they could not sleep or eat, they were broken. You can't let that happen, you hear me?"

His mouth was shut. He looked at me, stunned, not knowing what to say. He blinked a few times, like he was having delay with progressing what I just said.

"I, I," he tried. He shook his head and looked at his feet.

"It's not like I want to say it, OK? I just…don't want this group to break too."

"I, I understand." He rubbed in his eyes. "I need to go back."

"Yes, you must go back. You really scared your wife. She's pissed." I laughed at his scared face.

"I'm sorry. Not funny. Noted." I jumped down from the van.

It was morning, the sun was shining bright already. It was going to be another midsummer-hot day. Everybody was getting ready for the search for Sophia. I sat on the front of a car, searching through my stuff. My axe stood beside me, blinking in the daylight. I cleaned it up yesterday, the blade was still full of blood. I was proud of it, especially when I saw the rest of the group with small revolvers and some shotguns. Not the best equipment, if you ask me. I saw Carl sitting on the ground, doing something with a strange looking bag.

"Hey, man, whatcha got there?" I asked him. He turned around and smiled, like he was showing his new toy to me.

"Something pretty cool, look!" I walked over to him and looked over his shoulder. He spread out the thing.

"Yeah, man, that IS pretty cool." I kneeled down and looked at all the melee weapons. "Where did you get this?"

"Found it, in a car. Look at this!" He grabbed a machete and held it in the air.

"Careful with that," I warned him. "Have you shown this to your dad? This would come in really handy for the search."

"I wanted to, but…he's busy." Carl's eyes turned sad, and I felt sorry for him.

"But this is really important. We can't just shoot everything that moves, we got to do this "stealth-mode", you know?"

"Like Batman?" He grinned. "That's awesome."

"Well, yeah, like Batman. Go show it to your dad."

"Are you coming with me? I don't think he'll listen to me."

"What? Of course he is. Make him listen to you." I pat him on his shoulder. "Now go!"

"Wait, are you going to help us find Sophia?"

"Uh, yeah, why not?" I lifted my shoulders. It wasn't like I had much of a choice.

"Cool, you bring your axe too?" Carl's eyes glittered.

"Of course. Now, go tell your dad about the weapons!"

This was not what I expected from this day. I was running, I ran as fast as I could. Cutting through the branches and the high grass, with my axe in my hand. Suddenly, I ran through a field of yellow grass, high grass. I saw a small, old house. There were people coming out, looking at me. At us. At Rick, holding his dying son in his arms.


	4. Chapter 4 Orangejuice

**Hello readers!**

**This chapter, Carl's been shot and taken to the Greene-family. Ryan's with them. Let's see what happens when he meets them...**

**This chapter is a little longer, because I'm going away from Sunday till Thursday.**

**Enjoy;)**

**(disclaimer; I don't own the Walking Dead)**

_Chapter 4: Orangejuice_

_Beth_

"Dad!" Maggie shouted. She was on the veranda, with the binocular. I found that really stupid. Seriously, what was there to see? Grass? But now, as she shouted for my father, she sounded serious.

"What is it, Maggie?" my father asked, as he looked up from his book.

"You should come see this" she said, sounding a bit strange. I stood up from the couch. Now I was curious too. Jimmy grabbed my hand.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm just going to look what's up" I answered. I walked towards the door. Jimmy was so protective, it almost annoyed me. I mean, it was nice and all, but I can handle things myself. I can't even go to the bathroom without him asking me where I'm going this time.

I walked up the veranda and stood next to my sister. I looked over our field, and the quiet, silent place got interrupted by a group of men running through it. I looked a bit better, and I was shocked.

"O my gosh…."

"I know" Maggie said. "Dad, they're people on the land! One's bleedin'."

She was right. The second man held a little boy in his arms, his shirt was full of blood. The boy didn't move and was just laying in his arms.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Jimmy stood behind me, with a baseball bat. My dad came out of the house. The first guy who came running had reached us.

"Please, you gotta help us. You Hershel?"

I looked at the guy, and there was one slight second he looked at me. There was a strange change in his eyes, a bit shocked, and then he turned to my father again. I felt my heartbeat raising and suddenly, it felt like I had the fever or something. My head felt…hot. What was wrong with me? I was with Jimmy, I wasn't supposed to think like this!

"Was he bit?" my dad asked.

"Shot." The second man with the boy in his arms came running towards us. He was wearing a sheriff uniform, plus head. The boy seemed pale, almost dead.

"By your men" the sheriff continued. "He said I should find Hershel, is that you?"

My father nodded, and the sheriff started begging him to help the boy.

"Get him inside!"

"My boy, my boy!" the sheriff said, holding the kid against his chest. My dad got into the medical-mode, as I like to call it. He started giving orders to everyone in the house, except for me. I wanted to walk after them, but Jimmy grabbed my shoulder.

"Let go! I need to help!" I ran into the house, to my father's bedroom. The sheriff put the boy on the bed.

"Is he alive?" he asked. My father ignored him, when he's in his doctor-mode, you can't get him out unless you start talking about Jesus.

I started grabbing towels from the wardrobes and put them on the bed. I heard my father say; "I've got a heartbeat." I felt kinda happy about that, there was still a chance to save the boy. I didn't knew him, but still.

"Step back. Maggie, get here. Your name?"

The sheriff looked in shock. I could relate to that. He just brought his dying son in here.

"I'm, I'm Rick."

"Rick, we're gonna do everythang we can, OK?" his southern accent was one thing that stayed when he was in doctor-mode. "You need to give us som' room. Now."

Rick walked out the room, still in shock. As Patricia, Maggie and my dad started working on the boy. I looked out the window, and saw a black-haired man and Otis, a friend of our family, running towards the house. I was just wondering where the other guy was, when his voice sounded behind me.

"I can help" he said. He had a nice voice, warm and low. Different that Jimmy's. Jimmy's voice wasn't really….manly. More boyish. But this guy…. I felt a strange feeling in my stomach as he looked at me. It was a quick look, but still.

"I've done a year in medical-school, I can help you."

My dad nodded. "We can always use an extra hand. Help me with this."

The guy walked past me, and my heartbeat raised again. Jeez, what was I doing?

_Ryan_

Carl was just laying there, pale, not moving, but I could feel his heartbeat. We could still save him. I did everything Hershel asked me, but I didn't know if we were really helping him. Right now, we were just trying to stop the wound from bleeding.

After a while, Rick came back in, with Shane and the fat guy, who was called Otis. Rick was pale, his eyes red and he still seemed a bit 'off this world.'

"You know his blood-type?" Hershel asked him.

"A-positive. Same as mine" Rick answered.

"That's fortuned. Don't wander far, we're gonna need ya." Hershel looked at Carl, and his eyes were all sympathy towards the boy. Then he looked at the fat, stupid, bastard that shot him.

"What happened?"

"I was…tracking a bock," Otis said. "Bullet went… through it…clean through…" Seriously, where did this guy learn how to talk?!

"The deer slowed the bullet down" Hershel said, looking at the wound on Carl's chest. "It's certainly saved his life. But it did not go through clean. It broke into pieces. If I can get all the bullet-fragments out…..I'm counting six."

Otis face turned white. He walked over to the blonde woman, called Patricia, and started saying he never saw him and blablabla…..You fucking shot him, you asshole! I wanted to scream and chop his head off with my axe, but I kept it in.

"Lori doesn't know" Rick suddenly said. "My wife doesn't know."

His voice was full of tears. My anger was vanished as I saw the tears in his eyes. Man, this guy had a rough time. Shane tried to calm him down, but there was nothing he could do to stop the tears from falling.

_Beth_

All this made me really sad. I felt really sorry for Rick, it had to be horrible to see your own child dying. I promised myself I would do whatever I could to help the kid. I want kids someday. Jimmy doesn't want to talk about that yet, but I know for sure I want a couple of them. I've always been good with children, and they feel comfortable with me around.

My dad was opening up the wound, and the boy started yelling of pain. I could hear him scream as I sat in the kitchen. I was making juice from some oranges, for Rick. It would do him good. If he really had to give a lot of blood, he needed to drink. Jimmy was outside, he couldn't handle all the screams.

I heard my father shouting at Rick. I was kinda happy not to be there, in that room. It must've been a chaos. Right now, making juice was the only thing I could do to help Carl a little. That was his name, Carl. It sounded sweet, I liked that name. I was so into my own thoughts, I didn't hear the footsteps.

"Uh, hi" a warm, low, manly voice said. The orange I was holding almost slipped out of my hands. I turned around and saw the handsome guy with the fire-axe, standing in the doorway.

"I'm Ryan. I don't want to be cruel, but…do you have something to drink?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but it seemed my brains stopped functioning. _Great. _All I could do is look at him. His hair was gold-brown, it shone in the sunlight. There was a slight shadow of a beginning beard on his chin, which made him so sexy….

_Beth?! What the hell? You already got your man! Stop this madness!_

"Uh, sure, I was just making some juice. Orange juice." I gave him a glass. "It's very good… I mean, no! It's not very good! Wait, it's not bad, or anything. But it's not the best in the world. It's just….good." _God, Beth?! You're talking about orangejuice! Look at his face, he thinks you're weird!_ It was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. He drank the juice, and smiled at me.

"It's good. Very good." Wow, he had the most beautiful smile you could imagine….

_Ryan_

"Thanks, Beth" I said to the shy blonde. "I really needed that." I gave back the glass and nodded at her. She smiled and her cheeks turned red. She looked really cute. I walked out of the kitchen with a smile on my face. Beth made me laugh. She was a bit weird, but that was what made her funny. And she was pretty. Very pretty. Green eyes, perfect nose, round pink lips. Hey, I'm a dude. I know it's like, the end of the world and all, but I can still see when a girl is pretty or not.

I turned around to look at her for one more time. I saw the young guy with the baseball bat coming into the kitchen, and he put his arms around her. He gave her a kiss.

Ah, man. Too bad. She's taken. Lucky guy.

I was so into my own thoughts, I didn't even notice the silence in the house. Carl didn't scream anymore. Something was wrong.

I ran towards the bedroom, and saw Shane with his arm on Carl's chest, Carl himself with closed eyes, Rick panicking and asking what's happening, Patricia putting a needle in his arm to take some blood, and Hershel, in all the chaos, remaining calm and being the doctor.

"He just passed out" he said to Shane. I could see in Hershel's eyes he wasn't sure if he could help Carl. I did not know either.

Rick sat down on a chair. The girl with the short, brown hair, walked up to him.

"Your wife, where is she?"

_Beth_

I felt so stupid. I was falling in love with a guy I only spoke to once, and now I was kissing another. I felt so stupid. I loved Jimmy, he took care of me and was sweet, but he could be overprotecting. And he was a wimp. But that was one of the main reasons I fell for him. But now there was this other guy. Ryan was his name. He seemed twice the man Jimmy was. Maybe four times. He was muscled and mature. He wasn't scared of anything.

Jimmy had a small belly, fluffy arms, and screamed like a girl when he saw a spider.

Now Ryan had seen me with Jimmy. Now he knows we're together. He's probably never gonna talk to me again. But isn't that something good? _You're in love with Jimmy. You're supposed to be with him, not some random guy that came running from the woods. This isn't like Tarzan! _

Jimmy took my hand in his. "You OK?"

He's so sweet. He takes such good care of me.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don' seem fine" he said. He pulled my ponytail down. "It's these new people, uh? Yeah, they seem weird. Just runnin' from the woods. But they'll leave soon. After that boy's dead…."

"What?" I turned my face towards him, pulling my hand out of his. "How can you say that?"

"You've heard your dad. The bullet's in six pieces. He's never gonna make it."

"How can you think like that? Of course he's gonna make it! Dad is gonna save him, you'll see!"

"Why do you care so much? We don't even know them!"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you can just sit down and watch them die!"

"Hey, I never said that, that's what you make of it. I just said he's gonna die."

"Listen to yourself! Think about what you say! How can you be so cruel?!"

I was so done with Jimmy at that point. I pushed him aside and walked out the door, and walked towards the barn.


	5. Chapter 5: A shoulder to cry on

**Hello!**

**I am back! I had an awesome time in Belgium, but I'm sooo tired. As I write this, it's almost midnight. But I finished the chapter. This is a fluffy one, as I like to call it. Tomorrow, I'll try to upload another chapter, cause I'm going away, _again, _for one week. So chapter 7 will be uploaded next Saturday.**

**Enjoy! ;)**

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Walking Dead**

_Chapter 5: A shoulder to cry on_

_Ryan_

I saw the pretty blonde Beth running out of the house, towards the barn. She seemed upset.

The guy she was with walked from the kitchen, looking frustrated. They seemed to have had an argument just yet. I did not notice anything else in the house, than Carl screaming of pain. He was still passed out, and Hershel had just removed one of the six bullet fragments.

I sat down in a chair in the living room. Shane and Otis had just left to get the supplies Hershel needed to do a surgery. His eldest daughter, Maggie, went into the woods on a horse, looking for Lori. I wanted to go with her, but I don't know how to ride a horse and Hershel said he needed me here. In case we needed to open him up faster.

But at that moment where I sat in the living room, I felt so useless. I wanted to help, do something. But there was nothing to do. Hershel and Rick were outside on the veranda, talking. Patricia was in the kitchen, cleaning her hands. The guy stood awkwardly at the dinner table. He probably felt just as useless as me.

"You OK?" I asked him, trying to be social.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just….the blood" he said, as he cleared his throat. "Is he...huh, ya brother?"

"Nope, a member of my group."

"You got….others?"

"Yep, up the high way. Maggie just took off to get the boy's mother."

"Oh" he only said. "What's ya name?"

What a weird change of subject…?

"Ryan, nice to meet you…?"

"Jimmy."

"You live here?"

"Well, yeah. My pa's sick, and I'm with Beth, so Hershel permitted me to stay here."

"I see."

Jimmy didn't seem so bad after all.

_Beth_

I climbed down the ladder. Being in the barn did me good. Every time I was upset, I went to the barn. It calmed me down, talking to the sick people in there. I told them that it wouldn't be long before there was a cure. Then I could hug my mom again and laugh with my brother, Shawn. That thought made me happy. I was walking back to the house, when I saw my sister riding up the land on one of our horses. Margot, if I was correct. Maggie had brought someone with her, a woman. She had brown hair and skinny arms. I saw Rick running towards her and hug her. She started crying and screaming like a crazy person. They ran towards the house and went inside.

I ran up to my sister, who sat on the ground, still holding the reins of Margot. She was crying.

"Maggie! You alright?" I kneeled down and put my arm around her shoulder.

"Yes, yes. I'm OK. It's just…" She cried with her face against my shoulder.

"Shh… It's OK. Shall we take Margot back to the stables?" She nodded and I helped her get up. Together we walked to the stables.

"You want to tell me what's wrong?" I asked her, holding her hand in mine.

"It's just so…sad. That little boy…and Rick, and Lori…"

"O, poor thing. You're always so sentimentally about other people." I smiled and hugged her. "Otis and the other man are getting the right supplies to fix him up. He's gonna live."

Maggie smiled at me. We put Margot back in her stable and walked back to the house, together. It's weird, but since this whole thing started, my sister and I got closer. We always were good sisters, but now we were really friends.

_Ryan_

I saw Lori running into the house, with Rick behind her. They ran straight to the bed where Carl was laying. It broke my heart to hear Lori cry and whisper to her son. They had gone through so much. I liked Lori, and I felt sorry for her. Rick was an awesome guy, he didn't deserve this.

I stood up from the chair. This was too much for me. I felt like the walls were coming at me. I had a little claustrophobia, and now it was getting worse. I needed to get air. Oxygen. The floor seemed to turn upside down as I tried to make my way to the door. I bumped into Beth and her sister.

"Sorry" I tried to say. I grabbed the door, preventing myself from falling.

"You OK?" I felt Beth's soft hands on my shoulder.

"Yes, I-I just need to get out…" I pushed her aside and walked away from the veranda. I fell down in the grass, gasping for air. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe through my nose, as my father told me. I heard soft footsteps. I opened my eyes and saw Beth. Her eyes were full of concern.

"You OK?" she asked again. I sat up and wiped my hair from my face.

"Yes, just a little claustrophobia. It was a long time since my last incident, so this one was heavy."

"I see." Her green eyes went towards the ground. She bit at her pink lips, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"You can…have a seat, if you want." _Dude? What the fuck? It's grass! _

She hesitated for a minute, not knowing what to do. She turned towards the house, then she looked at me. I felt relieved when she sat down.

"You sure you're alright?" Beth asked. "You seem a bit pale."

"Well, thanks, but I'm alright." I laughed at her shocked face.

"I didn't mean to offend you, I just wanted to…." Her red cheeks were so cute in combination with her green eyes and funny nose.

"Don't bother it, it's funny. How are you?"

"Me? I'm…fine." She put some hair behind her ear and she looked shy.

"Your boyfriend seemed quite upset." With the mentioning of Jimmy, her eyes looked at me.

"O, we had this little….argument. He was being…"

"I don't need to know what it was about. I just saw him being upset, that's all."

Beth sighted and smiled. "Good, it ain't a nice thing to talk about."

"What is? At this point, the only thing I can think about, is the little boy with six pieces of metal inside him, laying in a bed."

"Did you know him well?" Now that we had something to talk about, Beth seemed more comfortable with me.

"Not really, I joined Rick's group yesterday. But I know Carl doesn't deserve this. He's a good kid."

"Don't worry about him" Beth said, smiling with her cheeks lifting up. "My dad can help him. He's gonna be fine."

"I hope so." I laid down on my back and looked up to the sky. "You can't imagine how grateful we are to have found you guys. I've only done one year in medical-school, I could've never saved him."

After I stopped talking, there was a short silence. Beth was playing with the grass between her fingers, and all I could do was look at her. I did not know what to say. _What is wrong with you? Say something!_

_Beth_

I liked to hear his voice. It calmed me down, just like when I was in the barn. I relaxed. All I wanted, was to listen. But then he stopped talking, and it got awkward. _Say something, you stupid cow!_

"What were you doin'?" Ryan looked at me, not understanding the question. "I mean, in the woods. What were you doin' there?"

"O, you mean that." He smiled and sat up. "Well, yesterday, Rick and the group lost one member. A little girl, she had two walkers on her and she ran into the woods…"

"Walkers? What's that?" I did not know that word. I knew what walking is, but walkers seemed to be something different.

"That's what they're called. The dead people. The monsters."

I felt pain in my stomach. He sounded just like Jimmy.

"Monsters? They're not monsters! They're sick, that's what they are!"

"You believe that?" He wasn't convinced. "Look, I don't think you quite understand this…"

"Yes I do! You get bit by a sick person, then you get sick. That's how it works."

"I'm really sorry Beth, but that's not the thing…"

"Yes it is! I've seen it happen." With the last words, I heard my own voice breaking. I couldn't help it. One moment, I was happy to talk to someone, the next thing I feel are my tears on my cheeks, rolling down my chin. I felt so embarrassed. I stood up.

"I'm sorry. It was nice talking to you!" I wanted to turn around and run away, but I felt a strong, big hand grabbing mine.

"Hey, don't be ashamed. I've seen it happen too." His beautiful voice made the pain in my stomach go away. "It's OK to cry."

That was the last thing I needed to hear. All the stress of that day came out in tears. I couldn't stop.

"Come here." He did something I wasn't expecting. He spread his arms and put them around me. This strange guy from the woods was hugging me. At first I was scared, but then, I let myself go. I laid my head on his chest and cried. I felt his strong arms around me, and for the first time in weeks, I felt save.

_Ryan_

It was weird. I did not know what I was doing. But I felt so much sympathy for this girl. I felt the need of protecting her. She seemed so fragile, but strong at the same time. She made me laugh, I felt happy with her around. I did not know her for like, a day, but I felt a connection between us.

I felt her tears on my shirt, and her shoulders shaking. I patted her softly on her head, with my fingers through her blonde hair. It made me feel sad, to see this girl cry. I wanted to make her happy. I wanted to see her smile, with her cheeks lifted up and her green eyes glittering.

I held her in my arms, I never want it to end. I needed her. And she seemed to need me.

After what seemed like for ever, she pushed herself away from me. She wiped her hair from her face and the tears of her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what I was doin'." She stepped back.

"It's OK, I understand. We're all havin' a rough time."

She smiled at me, and I felt my heartbeat raising. "Thank you" she said, and her voice sounded more like herself.

"You're welcome."

She turned around and walked back towards the house. I watched her, feeling like a good person. I had helped her, I had given her the shoulder to cry on. As I watched her, I saw Jimmy, looking out the window. He was not pleased. I could understand that, I had just stole his role as a understanding boyfriend. And I seemed to be better in it than him.


	6. Chapter 6: Standing in the dark

**Hello, readers!**

**I'm finally back, with some great ideas for the story. This one is romantic, the next one will be more...other things.**

**Enjoy ;)**

**(Disclaimer; I don't own The Walking Dead)**

_Chapter__ 6: Standing in the dark_

_Ryan_

The sun went down, and the lights inside the farmhouse went on. I sat outside, enjoying a small cup of tea, listening to the nature, preparing for the night. The woods were dark and full of secrets, and it made me feel sad to think Sofia was still there, somewhere, alone.

I sighted. I was happy to be outside, on the veranda, and not inside the house. Lori kept on crying, and Rick tried to calm her down by telling story about his high school years with Shane. It wasn't helping much.

Shane and Otis were still not back. They were gone for almost two hours. I had just talked to Hershel and Patricia, and we had kind of a debate. If Shane and Otis weren't back soon, we had to do the surgery without the supplies. There was also the possibility of them not coming back at all, but I did not want to think about that. I did not know Shane for that long, but he was a part of the group and a good friend of Rick. Otis was a dear friend to Hershel, and Patricia's husband, so I hoped he would come back too.

I stared at the barn, not far from the house. It wasn't that interesting, I just needed something to look at. I felt useless. I wanted to do something. I wanted to help. Two kids were in great danger at the moment, and I sat on a veranda with a cup of tea.

I put down the cup and stood up. My axe laid on the ground at my right, as always. I picked it up and grabbed my backpack. I needed to do something. I stepped down the stairs and heard the grass under my shoes. It calmed me down somehow. I kept walking, when suddenly a voice called my name. I turned around and saw Beth, standing on the doorstep.

"Where're yah going?" she asked with her soft, high voice. Her eyes were all curiosity, which made my heart melt.

"Into the woods" I answered. "I going to search for Sophia."

"O. Who's that?"

"The little girl we lost. I wanna continue the search. I can't just sit here while she's still out there, on her own."

"I understand, but….shouldn't you stay here? For Carl, I mean."

"There's nothing I can do for him here. The thing I can do, is search for his friend."

Beth nodded, as if she understood. I nodded at her and smiled, and turned around. I wanted to say more, but…I did not know which words to use. I just needed to find Sophia.

"Shall I….go with yah?" Beth suddenly asked. She surprised me, she didn't look like a girl that did this kind of stuff.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. There's nothing I can do here either. So I might as well help you."

"OK. Fine. Are you wearing sneakers?"

"What? No!" she said, as if I just insulted her.

"It's because of the snakes and insects, dummy" I explained to her.

"O." She blushed. "I'm wearing boots, and jeans over my knees. Snakes ain't gettin' in there."

"Perfect. Come with me then, and stay close. It's not so dark here, but the woods are one big hole of darkness."

"Why don't yah use a flashlight?"

"It attracts walkers…I mean, the sick people. And we can't have them so close to the farm." I still needed to think about the use of the word. She only nodded, as she walked over to me.

"Let's go, then."

_Beth_

I felt free. I had never done something like this. I was walking in the dark forest, with a strange, but really handsome guy with a fire axe, searching for a girl I did not even know. If my pa knew this…I did not want to think about what he would say. He was too busy with Carl at the moment, so he would not even know I was gone. Maggie was cleaning the kitchen, and Jimmy was reading the study-room. Another thing why I fell for him. He liked to read. I did not know much boys who liked to read books.

Ryan and I walked beside each other, with only the sound of the branches and leafs under our shoes. He looked everywhere around us, searching for the little girl he lost. I just looked at his face. Even if he was worried, he was handsome.

I wanted to start a conversation, but I was scared I would be a burden if I started talking. But the silence got to awkward to me, so I asked him the first thing I thought about.

"Do you like books?" _Girl, you know what ye'r doin'? You're comparing yer boyfriend with a stranger. A much more handsome, strong, manly stranger…_

What was I doing? This was not right!

Ryan laughed at me. "Well, not really. The only book I really enjoyed reading, was _Animal Farm. _It was authentic and had a nice message, and all the animals talked. That was the main reason I read it. Don't get me wrong, there are more books I like, but…I forgot the titles. All this made my life before a bit….hard to remember."

_Not a reader, is he? Jimmy loves books, he's much more intelligent. But still, Ryan is so…._

"Have you seen the movie?" I asked him, trying to make the arguing voices in my head disappear.

"Yes, I did. It was a good movie, but….I like the book better."

"We had pigs once, but…they're all….gone, now" I said.

"You mean you ate them?"

"Well, yeah, you could say that…" _ He's kind of rude with some things, ya know?_

He smiled. "Sorry, it wasn't my intention to be rude."

"No, it's OK, you're right. We ate them." _He's careful with his words, and he knows what he says. Different than Jimmy, who only…._

"I was a vegetarian, but when this all started, I could not get other meat. The fake stuff."

He laughed. "I know what you mean. Fake meat."

"Yep. And my pa forced me to eat the real meat, because I can't live on only vegetables."

"Well, he's right."

And that was it. Another awkward silence. We just walked through the woods, looking around. I did not see a thing, everything was black to me. After a while I got tired. The sun was gone, and it was really night. When I was little, I was scared of the dark. I was too scared to go to the bathroom, so I peed in my bed. Ma was all pissed in the morning, but she did not give me special diapers. She thought it would be over by the time. But it did not. Every morning, she got angrier. I was scared to make her mad, and Maggie saw that. One night she opened the door of my room, and asked me if I needed to pee. She grabbed my hand and together we walked to the bathroom. The following nights, she came out of her bed to help me go to the bathroom. One night, she had a party and she would come home the next day. I had to go alone to the bathroom, and suddenly, I just did. I had reached it on my own. Maggie was so proud when I told her. That was the last thing we did together. After that, we grew apart. Now that this whole sickness-thing happened, we got closer again. I can go to the bathroom at night, but I still need my sister for other things.

At the moment I walked through the woods with Ryan, I smiled. It was a nice memory, and it made me feel less uncomfortable in the darkness of the forest. I was just feeling fine, when I tripped. I tripped over a branch, and fell on the ground. I hurt my hands on a stone, and tried not to scream of pain.

"You OK?" Ryan asked with his manly voice from the dark. "Where are you?"

"I'm here." I reached with my arm in the air, trying to find his.

"You hurt?" he asked, grabbing my arm. I suddenly felt his warm breath on my cheek. His face was close.

"No. Yes. Maybe. My hands" I said.

"Can you stand up?" he asked.

"Yes I think." But then, I felt my leg was trapped, under a big, heavy branch. "O lord…."

"What is it?"

"My leg's trapped, under a branch. I can't get it…"

"Wait, I get my flashlight." He let go of my arm, and I heard him putting down his backpack.

"Didn't that attract the sick people?"

"Fuck that. You're hurt. I need to get you back to the house."

"You know the way back?" I could not imagine him remembering every rock, bush and tree we passed.

"Yes, I know it, don't worry. Found it." Suddenly, I saw a white light shining in my eyes.

"Quit that, would you?"

"Sorry. Let me look at your leg." He put the flashlight in his mouth and looked at my leg. The big branch laid all over my knee and above that.

"OK…" I could hear the hesitation in his voice, "I should be able to lift it up…I count to three and then you pull back your leg, OK?"

"Yes sir" I answered. I felt so stupid, only things like this happen to me.

"One, two, three!" The weight disappeared from my leg, and I pulled it back. I heard a loud 'boom' as he let down the branch.

"You OK?" he asked.

"Yes, I think I can stand." It was really weird, but I did not feel any pain.

"Do I need to help you?" he asked.

"Would be nice, yes." I reached out my arm and found his. I was shocked by the big muscles, but focused on the plan. He helped me standing up, holding me with one hand, and the flashlight in the other. Suddenly, our faces were really close to each other. His warm breath blew at me cheeks, and his strong arm laid around my hip. It was an awkward position, but we both didn't move. We just stood there, in the dark, with only each other. The flashlight made some little shadows over his face, and saw him looking at me. He looked me in the eyes. Just looked. And I looked back. I wanted to stand there forever, just looking at his face.

He was the first to say something.

"We should head back" he said, and he pulled his arm away from me, but grabbed my hand instead.

"Stay close, OK?"


	7. Chapter 7: Mature

**Hello!**

**Chapter 7 already! I really enjoy writing about Ryan and Beth, and I'm planning on writing about some other characters! **

**(Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead)**

**Enjoy ;)**

_Chapter 7: Mature_

_Daryl_

I was preparing my crossbow. It wasn't that late in the day, I had enough time to search for the girl. Maybe today, I would find her. Or tomorrow. After the "funeral" of that Otis-guy, everyone kinda sat around, doin' nothing. I can't have that. I need to do something. I can't sit still. That's not me. And I get sick of Carol crying all the time. Women crying, that ain't right, man. The stupidest thing about them, is that it seems like no one can stop them. They just continue crying. Most of the times over nothing, but Carol's situation is different. She lost her aggressive husband just about a week ago, and now her daughter is missing. That's just…..rough.

I had all my arrows, three seemed enough for a quick look in the woods. We've been going one way yesterday, and Shane and Rick stopped at the point where Carl got shot. They didn't go further, so there's a whole area unsearched. Enough things for me to do. I put the bow around my back and closed my tent. I walked past the house, around the back, when Rick's voice called me back.

"Daryl!"

I turned around, and saw the sheriff, all in uniform, with that ridiculous cowboy head. His eyes were all read, around and in it. Probably from crying, or just the lack of sleep. Probably both.

"You OK on your own?" he asked.

I sniffed sarcastically. "I'm better on my own." I turned around and started walking away. "I'll be back befor' dark."

"Hey!" the cowboy said, like he was the boss of me. "We got a base" he continued, more calm. "We can get this search organized now."

Why did he keep sayin' that? I just told him I'm better off on my own, is he deaf or what?

"You got a point, or are we just chattin'?" I asked, stepping towards him.

"No point. Unless you're off the hook, you don't own us anythang."

Well, he had a point. He was right, what was I doin' ere?

"Well, my plan's fall through." I turned around and walked away. I was planning to go to the direction we came from, from the highway to the farm. From there, I could search for a track to follow. I had to search for the track of Rick and Shane, and maybe Carl's.

I had almost reached the gate, when another person called my name.

"Daryl! Wait a minute, K?" I turned around and saw the monkey. Great, first the cowboy, now the monkey. Sooner or later an alien will call my name.

"What do yah want, BeastBoy?"

"Nothin'. I just thought you maybe need som' help, with searching." He leaned on his big fire axe, with the blade on the ground.

"I don' need no help. Go back to the jungle." I opened the gate and walked through it. Before he could follow me, I closed it behind me. It annoyed me so much to see him jump over it, like it was just a doorstep.

"You're not givin' up, are yah?"

"Not really" he grinned. What a stupid smile, I wanted to punch him in the face. But I kept it in. I was finally gettin' some respect in the group, and I wasn't plannin' on ruining that.

"Just….get back. I'm not planning on searchin' two kids in the woods."

"Listen man" he said, as he walked next to me, his axe resting on his shoulder. "You got a lot of ground to cover today. And who knows what's out there. What if you run into a herd again? A herd as in….a herd of walkers…"

"I know what yah mean." I hoped the annoyed tone in my voice would scare him off, but he kept on stalking me.

"Let me just help you. We can split up if you want. We're both trackers, we can work as a team."

I tried a different tactic; just ignore him.

"Look, I know you don't like me, and you're not my favourite person either…."

"Yah got that right."

"….but if we want to find this girl, we gotta work together. Let's just…put the thoughts about each other aside, and handle this as adults. I might be a kid to you, but you gotta forget that for today. Tonight, you can say I'm a stupid monkey and everything else. But not now, get it?"

I stopped walking. I have to say, I was impressed. I did thought of him as a stupid kid and wannabe-monkey, but as he was telling me this, I heard a guy that had seen a lot of things, more things than someone else of his age. Suddenly I felt so immature, as I looked back at my behaviour to him.

I turned my head towards him and nodded.

"OK. I'll cooperate. We're a team. For now."

He grinned, and I immediately regretted my decision.

_Beth_

Today, I was wearing my white blouse. The blouse I used to wear on Sunday, as we went to the church. But today, it was for Otis. I looked at myself in the mirror. I had put my hair into a weird ponytail, it looked….childish. When I was younger, my mother used to do my hair. She made braids, ponytails and other tails. I loved the feeling of her fingers through my hair.

My hands were shaking, and I kept dropping the elastic. I tried to make it better, but after this morning, nothing seemed to work. Patricia was crying all the time, my dad seemed to be worried about the new people. He didn't like to have new ones. The last persons we had here, led to Shawn's death. Shawn was fixing the fence, and the tractor stood next to him. A little boy sat on it, and his father was helping us, and there was another man. I did not get a good look at them, dad didn't want me to meet them. But I got a good look at the girl. A little girl, about ten years old, with black short hair. She wore a cap all the time, and a pink dress. I talked to her, and she told me her name was….what was it again? I guess I forgot. But she told me she was going to find her parents.

After the accident where Shawn died, my dad had drawn them away. I was worried about the little girl and the man, and the other family of course. I hoped she had find her parents.

I sat down on my bed, looking out of the window. I saw Ryan walk away, after the man with the crossbow. That man was weird. He seemed….dangerous. He was all dirty and smelled. His eyes seemed to….look right through you. He scared me.

I looked at Ryan, at his big shoulders, and big fire-axe. I remembered his strong arms around me, the feeling of safety when I was with him…..when I looked at him walking away, I felt scared. _Was he coming back? What if something happened to him? _I wasn't going to follow him again. After last night, I want to stay as far away from the woods as possible. When I got home, I noticed my whole leg was bleeding. I had cut myself open from my knee to my ankle.

I suddenly dreamed away to last night

"_Beth, look at your leg! You're bleeding!" Ryan kneeled down, holding my knee._

"_O lord! My dad can't find out about this!"_

"_We have to stitch it."_

"_Can you do that? Go into the house, around the back. In the kitchen, in the drawer next to the microwave, there lay the….stuff you need."_

_He nodded. "Sit down. I'll be right back."_

_He walked inside the house and I waited. I felt a little dizzy and sat down. I hoped I hadn't lost too much blood. My dad would be so mad at me if I died. I took of my boot and rolled of the denim of my jeans. My hands were still hurting, they hurt more than my leg did. That's probably why I didn't feel the pain of the cut. _

_Ryan came back with the stuff, and washed the wound with some alcohol. I bit my lips, trying not to scream of the pain. _

"_You're doing great. I'm going to stitch it now, stay as calm as you are now." I tried to smile through the tears. "I think you need to wear long jeans for the first couple of days" he said laughing. I grinned, and sniffed at the same time. We were silent for a time, as he stitched the wound. I closed my eyes, and tried to concentrate on something else. I listened to the sounds of the night. The wind through the leafs, little insects through the grass, owls shouting in the dark…I breath through my nose and out through my mouth._

"_And…done." I opened my eyes and saw a white bandage around my leg. It looked professional. _

"_Thanks" I said. I smiled at him. Suddenly, his hand laid on my cheek. He wiped a tear from my eye. _

"_Does that feel better?" he asked, almost whispering. _

"_Yes" I answered, without breathing. His face got really close to mine, and the light from the house made shadows between us. I looked into his eyes, and saw myself in them. I felt his warm breath against my cheek, and felt my heart beating faster. He got closer and closer, and without a warning, his lips touched mine_

_Ryan_

We were walking through the woods, silent. Daryl wasn't a good chatter. He kept looking at the ground, following the trail. I was walking a few feet away from him, kneeling down now and then, searching on the ground. We had found two trails, one of a heavy person, and one from a thinner person. I guessed the fat one was Otis, and the other Rick. Daryl was following Rick's trail, and I followed Otis's for a while. When the two trails came together, we had found the right spot to start the search for Sophia.

I turned towards Daryl. He looked at me, and nodded. He went first and I followed him. We walked for a long time, when he really surprised me.

"Why are yah doin' this?" he asked. He didn't turn around to look at me, he just kept on walking like nothing happened.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are yah helpin' us? You barely know us."

I grinned. "Why are you helping them? It's not like you're…."

"A real member of the group?" he finished my sentence.

"Well, yeah."

"I asked you first. An answer for an answer."

I sighted. "Well, I….I want to do something. I've done a lot of…bad stuff. The big boss upstairs doesn't like me. Maybe this will give me another shot. And besides, if it was my kid, I would do anything to find her."

With the last sentence, I felt my throat a bit…closing in. It was hard for me to talk about.

"Well, it seems we have somethin' in common" Daryl said, after a long silence. "And I just want Carol to stop crying. Bad things happen when women cry."

I suddenly remembered Beth last night. She cried when I stitched the wound on her leg. I tried to make her laugh again, and before I knew it, we….

"And what's it with you and the blonde?" he suddenly asked, as if he read my mind.

"Who? Beth?"

"Yeah, the old man's daughter. I saw you looking at her. During the funeral."

Crap, was it so obvious?

"Are you hittin' that?"

"What? No!" I tried to sound believable, which was hard to do, considering I kissed Beth last night.

"We're just…."

"Friends? Gimme a break!" He laughed. "She blushed when you looked at her. That's somethin' different."

"O yeah? And what's it with you and Carol? You say women crying is bad, but you just want her not to cry. You care about her, and that seems more than friendship to me!"

"Keep on dreaming, son." He turned around and grinned.


	8. Chapter 8: Because of you

**Hello people!**

**Chapter 8 already! Just a friendly reminder; review/follow if you want me to continue this story. And some info from TWD s04: Trailer can be seen on YouTube (hopefully) this Saturday!**

**(Disclaimer; I don't own the Walking Dead)**

**Enjoy;)**

_Chapter 8: Because of you_

_Ryan_

"You fin' somethin'?" Daryl's southern accent echoed through the empty villa. It scared the shit out of me. We had been here for only twenty minutes, searching for any evidence that could help us finding Sophia. But I had no luck. I was checking the upstairs, Daryl the first floor.

"Nope. You?" I was glad Daryl treated me like a person, and not as a monkey. After our little jokes, we got serious on the search and worked as a team. We had found this big, almost abandoned, villa, in the middle of the forest, and went inside.

"Found som' blankets. And sardines. Or what's left of them."

"That sounds good to me" I replied. "Enough to tell her mother she got through the first night."

"You already thinkin' she's not here anymore?" I heard Daryl walking to the front door. "Maybe she's around here somewhere."

He went outside and shouted Sophia's name. I walked to the window of the bedroom I was searching. I saw Daryl walking and shouting like a monkey. Ironic.

I grabbed my axe and ran down the stairs. The sun had gone behind the clouds, leaving us with only the heat of that day. I walked outside and leaned with my shoulder against the walls of the villa. Daryl was still walking around, searching with his eyes through the trees. I was watching him, enjoying myself, when I noticed something white in the corner of my eye. I turned my head.

"Would you look at that" I said, stunned by the beauty. "Cherokee roses. Can't be a coincidence. She's been here."

Daryl turned his head towards the flowers. "I heard about those." He walked over to the bush. He stood still in front of the flowers. Very gently, he raised his arm, touching the white flowers with the top of his fingers. I never saw this rough, mysterious man being so careful with something different than his crossbow. He grabbed his hunting knife and cut one flower of, putting it in his back pocket of his pants. He turned around and saw me smiling.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" he said, and I remembered why I thought this man was heartless.

"Nothin'. Just enjoying the view."

"Pfff. Pervert." But I saw his ears turn red as he started walking in the opposite direction.

_Beth_

I pulled my lips away from his. This was so different. Jimmy kissed like….a boy. He almost seemed like an….amateur, compared to Ryan.

Jimmy smiled at me and his eyes glittered, like I had given him a candy. He gave me another kiss at my cheek before he walked out of the kitchen. I turned to the dishes again. I felt so stupid. I had kissed another. I had cheated on Jimmy, my first love. I felt horrible, he didn't deserve this. But at the same time…it was exiting. Something different. I had lived on this farm all my life, went to the same supermarket every time, I knew every person in the town. I only went to two schools, from which I only finished one. The high school I went closed down the moment the illness had gone worse and the patients started attacking others. Jimmy saved my life, and that's one of the reasons my dad let's him stay here.

I'm almost finished with the plates, as I look up through the window. My heartbeat raised as I see the creepy man and Ryan walking up the lawn. _He's back! He came back! _I wanted to punch myself in the face. What was I doing? _You're with Jimmy, you stupid cow! You're not allowed to look at other men. _My mother's voice in my head was right. What was I thinking? I looked at the last plate in the soap, and before I even thought about it, I had already waved at him through the window. He smiled, and I felt a tickling feeling in my stomach.

_Daryl_

I closed the door of the caravan. I ignored Ryan, who sat in the tree and laughed at me. As much as I hated the kid, I respected him. He was good at tracking and hiking in the woods, and he's a good guy to work with when he's serious. OK, he got some nice jokes or so, but I still don't like him that much.

I walked to my tent, and sat down in front of it. I grabbed my crossbow and the arrows I got left. The points of some of them were a bit rusty, and the ends needed some repairing. I grabbed my tools and started working. Repairing arrows make my head clear. I can think again, through the cloudy shit in my brains. I think about Carol. Her grateful face when I told her about the roses. I hope she doesn't cry anymore now. Or at least not too much. I could still see the sadness in her eyes, the worries about her daughter, but she still managed to smile. A sad, but honest smile.

I saw Rick walking towards our camp we sat up, between some trees in front of the house. I hoped he wasn't looking for me, but my hopes stayed hopes. He noticed me and changed his direction. Yep, he was coming for me. I sighted and concentrated on the arrows. I ignored him as he stood still in front of me.

"How did the search go?" he asked, uncomfortable tone sounding through his words.

"We did good. Found a possible shelter from her, from the other night." I still played to be very busy with the arrows. I didn't want to talk to him. He was not the boss of me.

"We?" Rick asked.

"Monkey-boy over there came after me. We found a villa, with som' thangs that told us Sophia's been there." While I said it, I felt as if an arrow was put in my back. I suddenly remembered the words of Ryan this afternoon. About being mature. I was making a fool out of myself, playing the kid that never listens to what daddy says. I decided to man up and looked Rick in the eyes. He made it easier for me to take him serious by not wearing the ridiculous sheriff-heat.

"That's good. So there's a big chance she still out there?" Rick asked, and I suddenly noticed how tired he must be.

"That's right. I'll continue searchin' tomorrow, and follow the trail a little further."

Rick nodded and turned around to walk away. I looked at him, and suddenly found the need to ask him something.

"How's yer boy?"

Rick stopped walking, probably shocked to hear this interest from a guy that eats squirrels.

"He's….he's awake. I just talked to him. He's going to be fine." He said this without looking at me, only turned his head for half, so I could see the left side of his face. I saw the slight smile of happiness on his cheeks.

"That's…uh….good for you, sheriff."

He finally turned around and nodded at me. "Yes. It sure is."

_Hershel_

I closed the book and put it on my lap. I already knew how this chapter was going to end. I put the book away and wiped the sweat from my hot forehead. The late sun of the day shone right into the study-room. I watched the new people in the camp. Strange folks. Traveling around, like nomads. A dangerous life, if you ask me. They already lost one child in the woods, and another was shot. A dangerous life. Looking at them made me realize how lucky I was to have this place. A safe place, without danger for my girls. I wanted to keep it that way. Life here was peaceful, and I wasn't going to let that be ruined by some nomads.

I stood up from the chair, trying to ignore the sour pain in my back. I was getting older, even though I didn't like to admit it. But I was still healthy. And I could still think clearly.

The smell of dinner tickled my nose. Beth was a great cook, just like her mom. I put the book I was reading back on the shelter and walked out of the room. As good as I could I walked down the stairs, to the kitchen. I heard Beth's clear, beautiful voice singing about the place over the rainbow.

I leaned with my shoulder against the doorpost, and listen to the voice of my daughter. It's almost like I hear my love again. Beth looked a lot like her when she was younger. The same eyes and mouth, the same talents, the same style of clothes…

"Daddy! I didn't see yah here!" Her big, green eyes looked amused and she smiled. "Yah scared me."

"Didn't mean to, dear." I walked towards her and looked over her shoulder. "What are we eatin' tonight?"

"Broccoli with cheese and chicken." My favourite.

"That's lovely, dear. Yah think it will take long?" I waited for an answer, but I didn't get one. I look at her face. Her green eyes are focused on the camp of the strangers, between the trees.

"You worried about them? They'll leave soon, don't worry."

I saw the sudden shock in her face.

"I've talked to mister Grimes, and as soon as his son is fit, they'll go."

_Ryan_

It was the next morning. It was nice, sleeping with all the mugs zooming around your ears all night. I got so desperate I climbed up the tree again, and I finally slept in. In the morning, Daryl poked me with a stick and I almost fell down. Very amusing. For Daryl.

Today, we started with the big search. We were split up in teams. Rick and Shane, T-dog and Andrea, Daryl and a horse, and me. Daryl and I were going to be on the same team, but the area was so big, we decided to split it up. Daryl was going West of the villa we found the other day, and I would go North. We decided we would do these area's because these were the most difficult ones to follow the tracks.

We were almost done with the plan, when Jimmy suddenly showed up.

"I'd like to help." We all turned our heads to the teenagers. Daryl already didn't pay any attention, and continued whatever he was doing with his crossbow. Andrea seemed annoyed, she wanted to start doing something, I could relate to that.

"I know this area pretty well and stuff" he continued, a bit uncertain about his own words.

"Is Hershel OK with this?" Rick questioned, not trusting him.

"Yeah, he said I should ask you." Looking at the guy's face, I knew he wasn't telling the entire truth.

The rest was discussing about a mandog or something, but I kept looking at Jimmy. He was Beth's boyfriend. It wasn't fair of me to judge him because of this, but I couldn't help it.

When the others picked a gun, Jimmy reached out his hand too.

"Ho, wait a second" I said. Rick nodded at me, and grabbed the gun from Jimmy's hands.

"Ever fired one before?"

"No…but if I go out there, I want one" he said, like a little boy who didn't get the ball.

"You can come to training tomorrow" Shane said.

"You give shooting training?" I asked.

"Yeah, tomorrow, wanna join?"

"Sure. Why not?" I looked at Jimmy. "For now, you can come with me, if you want."

"I think that's a good idea. Good thinking" Rick said. I guess he was just happy he didn't have to take care of him anymore.

"Well, he's yours to babysit" Shane said, not looking very supporting.

"No worries. I know how to change a diaper."

_Jimmy_

I walked through the woods with the axe-dude. I waited until we were far into the forest, away from the others. Luckily, I'm with him now. I finally get the chance to talk to this guy.

"You…uh…You know Beth, right?" I asked him after a long silence.

"Who? The brunette or the blonde?"

I wanted to tell him not to act so stupid. I knew he knew who I was talking about.

"The blonde."

"O, yeah, I know her. She's pretty."

I squeezed my fingers around the baseball bat, holding the anger in.

"You know….she's my girlfriend, right?"

"Really? That's too bad."

When was he gonna quit this stupid act? He did like he did not know anything about her.

"You know, I saw you two yesterday."

He was walking in front of me, and he stood still for a moment. I could see his ears turn red.

"What? When?"

I bit on the inside of my cheek, trying to stay calm.

"She was crying and you…hugged her."

I tried to not let him know I was pissed, but I don't think it worked. He turned around, holding his axe in both hands.

"Look, I know she's your girlfriend and all…"

"Then stay away from her!" I couldn't help it. I had to shout, before my head exploded.

"I've seen you two together, you hugged her!"

"So what?" He held his axe in one hand. "Everybody needs a hug sometimes. Don't make such a big deal out of it."

"You really don't get it, do you?" I stepped towards him. "Since you're here, she's been acting real strange."

"Look, I'm sorry, but I can't talk for Beth. If you think she's acting strange, you'll have to ask her about it."

"I'm starting to think there was more than just a hug," I said, holding my baseball bat against my chest.

"Jimmy, calm down, OK? We need to concentrate on the search…"

"Fuck that search! You really think I wanted to help?" I felt I was almost spitting the words from my mouth. "Since you people came here, everything went to hell! Because of you, my girlfriend doesn't like me anymore. Because of you Otis is dead. Because of you…." I couldn't think of another reason, I was too mad to think about anything.

"Jimmy, just chill out, OK?"

"Stop telling me that!" And before I could think about it, I ran at Ryan, with my baseball bat in the air.


	9. Chapter 9 Lies

**Hello!**

**Exited for the next chapter? I am! I'm getting some positive reviews, thanks for that! Really appreaciate it! ^-^ Did you check out the new trailer from The Walking Dead Season 4? I thought it was awesome. If you haven't seen it yet, go to YouTube right now!**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead; story, characters(exept for Ryan).**

**Enjoy! ;)**

_Chapter 9: Lies_

_Ryan:_

He came running at me, with madness in his eyes. At that moment, he was in the state of killing. I threw my axe away, I didn't want to hurt him. I watched the blade of my axe slam into a tree, and the next thing I felt, was the wooden baseball bat against my chest. I collapsed on the ground, trying to breathe. Jimmy screamed again, and held up his bat to smash in my head. The moment it came down, I rolled over to the other side. The bat slammed on the ground, just a few inches away from me. Jimmy picked it up again, and screamed. "You stupid people make everything worse!"

"Jimmy! Calm down, man!" I tried to talk to him.

"Don't call me man!" Jimmy held the bat above his head, and was ready to make it come down again. I followed my instinct and kicked him in his belly, right in the middle. He dropped the bat and fell on his knees, holding his arms around his stomach. I grabbed the bat and threw it away.

"Jim, just breathe, OK?" I crouched to him. "Just breathe, and it will…."

Before I could finish my sentence, his fist slammed into my face. I fell on my back on the forest ground, the right side of my face burning of pain.

Jimmy jumped on me and put one hand on my throat, squeezing it. I really didn't want to hurt him, I was past that. After….

But he didn't gave me a choice. I punched him on his cheek and he let go of my throat. I sat up and slammed his head against mine, making him fall on his back. I stood up, and kicked him in his belly, again. I sat down on him, pushing both his arms to the ground with my knees. My face was just a few inches away from his.

"Listen, you made me do this" I whispered, spitting the words out of my mouth "You're pathetic, you know that? There are much more things to worry about than only your girlfriend. Didn't you get the memo? Humanity is hanging by a treat. And all you worry about, is normal teen-problems."

Jimmy's face was red, and his cheek was turning blue. He still grumbled and cursed, but his eyes were cleared. And that was what mattered.

"I'm gonna let you go now, and you won't attack me. If you do, I will cut your ears off. Understood?"

He spit in my face. I pushed my knees further into the ground, crushing his arms.

"OK, OK, yes!" he cried.

"Good." I let go of him and stood up. I held out my hand, to help him get up. He ignored it. I lifted my shoulders, and walked towards the tree were I put my axe.

"Jim" I said, and I threw him his baseball bat. "You're gonna need it. No tricks, you hear me?"

"Fuck you" he replied.

"I take that as a yes." I sighted. "Let's continue the search. Forget what just happened, that's not important. Sophia needs to be found, and thinking about something stupid isn't going to help."

_Beth_

The moment they walked up the lawn, I saw I was going to have another argument with Jimmy. The left side of his face was all purple, and his arms were burse too. He had one hand on his stomach, and he held the baseball bat in the other. Blood dropped out of the left corner of his mouth.

Behind him walked Ryan. His nose was bleeding and his right cheek was burse. He looked at me through the window, and I could see disappointment in his eyes. He turned his head away and went to the camp. Jimmy walked up to the house, looking like a sick puppy. I ran out the door, holding out my arms. He only looked at me, and pushed me aside.

Yes, I screwed up.

Inside the house, my father sat in the living room. He saw Jimmy, and shook his head.

"What happened?" he said, while he stood up. I could hear the doctor speaking.

"I tripped, fell down the hill. Had to climb up again, fell down a few times." I could hear the pain in his voice. He looked at me, back to my father, and walked towards the bedroom upstairs.

"Would you take care of him, dear?" my father asked me. "I need to talk to Rick for a second." He was staring at the doorway Jimmy just went through, as he walked towards the door. He didn't trust Jimmy's story, me neither. But my father wanted to know the truth, I didn't. I was too scared, but I took a deep breath, and walked to the stairs.

Jimmy was in the bathroom, with his shirt of. His little belly had a burse, purple spot, that looked like a foot. I cleared my throat, shocked. He didn't fell of the hill.

"What happened?" I asked, not breathing.

"I had a little chat with your other boyfriend" Jimmy answered. He was holding a wet towel against the spot. "As you can see, he isn't really a chatter."

I noticed Jimmy didn't look me in the eyes, but I could hear the anger in his voice. It made me scared.

"I don't know what ye're talking about."

"Oh, stop the act! You know exactly what I mean!" Now he looked at me. "You're doin' him!"

"What?!" Now it was my turn to be mad. "How can you say that! I would never do that!"

"I'm not so sure about that. C'mon, tell me, is he a good kisser?"

"Stop this! You're crazy! I can't believe this!" With every word I shouted, my guilt grew stronger. Every word made me doubt myself even more. "You know me, Jimmy! You know I would never do that to you!"

"I know you, Beth, but you're acting strange. Since these people are here, you're not the same anymore. If it's not Ryan, than what is it?"

"Why would you blame them, hu? Otis shot Carl, and it was our duty to help him. It wasn't their intention to get here! It was our own fault! Yah wanna know what's happened to me? I wanted to help that boy, and yeh knocked me down! You didn't believe in him, not in me! I've seen a lot of thangs I want to forget, I've seen a lot of people die! Maybe I couldn't stand seein' a child die. Have yah thought about that, uh? You keep blamin' others, while you're the real bastard here!"

With that, I walked away from him. I noticed that while I was talking, my accent came up. I tried to get rid of it, but sometimes I can't control it. I walked away from Jimmy, with tears in my eyes. I was lying to him, but also telling the truth. I walked down the stairs, and wanted to check on the chicken, but I let it burn. I watched the oil and the flesh burn as I cried. I screwed up. I screwed the whole shit up.

_Rick_

Hershel was pissed, I could tell. Not a surprise, the boy he needed to take care of, came with us, and hurt himself pretty bad. And all without his permission. He wanted us to leave, he wanted to keep all this land for him and his family. I begged him to let us stay another night, but he made his choice. When Carl's strong enough, we gotta leave.

I kick a stone away from my feet. What a mess. The search of today didn't brought us anything. Everyone was back already, except for Daryl. He 'borrowed' a horse without telling Hershel, what made the situation more worse. Andrea and T-dog didn't find anything, me and Shane accidently walked into their area, which made the search even more useless. Ryan and Jimmy had found another trail, behind the house, but lost it when Jimmy fell down the hill and injured himself.

My only hope that day was Daryl.

I walked towards our camp, and saw Ryan sitting on top of the camper, talking to Andrea. Dale was inside the camper, reading a book or so. Glen was talking with one of the farmer's daughters, Maggie, Shane was taking a nap, and T-dog was walking towards Dale. It looked peaceful, but something was missing. The rest of the group. I was just starting to wonder where they may be, when Ryan called my name.

"Rick! Wait a minute!" The guy jumped of the camper as if it was nothing. I saw Andrea's shocked face when he walked further.

"You're probably wondering where Lori and Carol are, right?" It seemed he had read my mind.

"Well, yeah, can you tell me?"

"They're making dinner for all of us. We're eating a real dinner!" He said it if it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"That's…That's….great" I said.

"I know, right?" He sounded so happy, so glad, about such a small thing. Seeing him smile, made me glance a little too. "It's probably the first time since this all happened I'm going to bed with a warm feeling in my belly!"

I laughed at him. "Our food isn't so bad, is it?"

"No, trust me, I've had worse. But come on, a real meal from a real kitchen?" He patted me on my shoulder, like I was an old friend or so. "That's nothing compared to your can of beans!"

"Yeah, maybe you're right, but Lori's not the best cook, I gotta tell yah."

"Don't say that to her!" He laughed again. I felt my lips curl. It felt strange, a movement my body did not recognize. I realized I hadn't smiled in a long time.

"Is Robin Hood back yet?" Ryan asked.

"Who?"

"Mister Crossbow, is he back yet?"

I laughed, for real. It was strange to hear myself laugh. I had almost forget how my own laughter sounded.

"No, I haven't….."

"Walker! Walker!" Andrea suddenly shouted from the top of the camper. "Shall I shoot it?"

"No, we handle this!" All the happy thoughts disappeared and I returned to reality. My son had been shot, a girl was missing because of me, the dead came back to eat us, a man was dead because of me…This was reality.

_Daryl_

I just kept walking. Just took a new step every time, not paying attention to my muscles. _Just keep walkin' lil' bro, just keep walkin'…."_

Merle's voice was the thing that made me keep pushing. I didn't know how far it was to the farm. All I knew, was that the stupid horse threw me off his back into the river. Merle was there, and this doll. Sophia's.

_You really are a bitch, ain't yah? Worryin' bout dolls now?_

"Shut up!" I whispered to him. "Yah don' know anythang!"

I saw shadows at the horizon. Shadows that came running to me. I felt the grass passing my legs, and the leafs under my shoes. My crossbow slipped over the ground, it was heavy. I could not lose it. Without the bow, I got nothing.

_Well, yah got yer doll now, yah can play with that!_

"I said shut up!"

The shadows came closer. The sun was shining right in my eyes, it hurt. I just kept on walking, kept walking.

"Is that Daryl?" I heard a voice from far away saying. I looked at the shadows, and slowly, some familiar faces appeared. They flew above the ground, like lightbolls. I grinned in myself.

_Don't yah see that? That's the cowboy, yer pall! _

Merle was right. It was him. In the middle, the closest face in front of me.

_Yah see that? He's pointin' his gun at yah!_

I looked down and saw the silver gun with the holster in front of my head.

_See? I told yah he was bad news. Shoot'm, shoot'm now! He made me cut of my hand, bro. You can't let him get away with it! Do it, do it now!_

I tried to say something to Rick about the gun, but I couldn't hear myself talking. And suddenly, there was a loud shot and the left side of my face started bleeding. I fell to the ground, and felt the pain flowing through my head. The heads that were flying in the air were now above me, looking worried. They talked to me, but I couldn't hear what they said. And then, all went black.


	10. Chapter 10: Dinner

**Hello all new and old readers!**

**Chapter 10, already! This chapter, our favorite survivers(included Ryan) and the Greene family and friends(Patricia, Jimmy) are calming down after all the action from the last chapters. Jimmy still hates Ryan, Ryan tries to keep it still. Rick does everything he can to make the search for Sophia organized and the group save, but Hershel wants them to leave. He thinks these "people" are only trouble. Carol's still worried about her daughter, but tries to keep herself occupied, but she's all alone in this.**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead; not the story nor the characters.)**

**Enjoy!;)**

_Chapter 10_

_Ryan_

"No!" I heard myself scream. "No! What have you done?!"

I turned around towards the camper, seeing Andrea standing up, with a shocked look on her face. I looked at Daryl's body, and kneeled down. I lay my hand on the left side of his head and tried to feel the wound.

"No way…" I whisper.

"What? What is it?" T-dog asked, looking a bit pale.

"The bullet….missed him." I looked at the wound, and saw Daryl open his eyes.

"Of course it did. Ain't nobody shooting me…" He grinned, and passed out.

"We gotta get him inside, now!" While I was saying that, I felt blood on my knees. I looked down, and noticed a big wound on Daryl's side, just above his hip.

"O shit! He's got a big wound, he's losing blood. We gotta hurry!" Rick nodded and he and Shane put Daryl's arms over their shoulders, pulling him up. We started running back towards the house, and I ran as fast as I could. I was almost at the camper, when T-dog shouted.

"Guys!" He held something in the air. It looked like….a doll.

Half an hour later, I washed the blood of my hands. Daryl's OK now, and I gotta say, I'm happy he's not dead. I didn't like him, but we made a good team together in the search. And once you get into a conversation with him, he's quite a nice person.

I threw some water in my face, wiping my sweaty forehead with the back of my hand. Carol was in the kitchen too, still cooking dinner for tonight. She was very focused and she seemed to think about something else than food, and I could see she was worried. About her daughter, of course, but Daryl seemed to be on her mind too. I suddenly felt the need to say something to her.

"He's….he's OK." She looked up, her eyes a bit cloudy, but she gave me an honest smile.

"That's… good." She nodded and looked back at the food. I had the feeling this wasn't really becoming a conversation.

"You know about the roses, right?" Her hands stopped moving and she seemed to think about every word.

"Yes, Daryl told me. He…he brought me one of them." I saw a little twinkle in her eyes.

"So you know…there's still hope…for her. Your daughter." I was too afraid to say her name, scared I might make her sad again. She was finally smiling, I didn't want to ruin that.

"I know. It's just…she's still out there. I know she is…" She looked through the window, to the trees. "She's scared. Lost. She doesn't even know we're looking for her." Her voice was full of emotion.

"We'll find her. Rick won't leave before we've found her. I won't. Daryl won't."

She looked at me. "Why are you here? Why are you helping us? You don't even know her." I see the tears blinking in her eyes, and her voice is soft, almost whispering. I looked at the ground, not knowing what to say. I mean, I did know why I was doing it, I just didn't know how to explain it.

"It is….the human thing to do" I said, looking at her tears rolling down her cheeks. "The world may change, but that doesn't mean I change with it."

She smiled, and before I could think about my own words, she hugged me.

"Thank you" she whispered in my ear. "Thank you so much."

_Jimmy_

I put my baseball bat next to the door of my room, where I always put it. These city-people were messed up, really. First, they got one of their kids lost in the woods. Then, the other kid got shot. After that, they killed one of ours. And now, they got one of their own almost killed for a doll and Hershel lost one of his horses. It was just too much for me. Too much….drama. I didn't like drama. These people were full of it. I can't handle that. That's probably the main reason Beth's my first girlfriend. Beth wasn't a dramaqueen before they came, but now….She was putting all the troubles on my shoulders. She said I was the dick that made everything go wrong, but I didn't do anything. I just said what I thought…And she just can't handle the truth, that's it.

I sat down on the stretcher, leaning with my chin in my hands. I say what's up, and she can't handle it. She still goes to the barn, to talk to her mother. But her mother's still sick, she's not herself. I once said that to her, and she didn't talk to me for four days. No I said she was cheating on me with that douchebag, and she will probably not speak to me for over a week. And it's not even my fault!

I put my hands over my eyes. I needed to talk to Hershel about this. These people….they were only trouble. Wandering in the woods, looking for the ghost of a little girl they lost three days ago. I didn't like them, all of them. Even the mother of the girl. Or the other mother. And that blonde that shot the crossbow guy is truly an idiot. Not to speak about the old man. All he does, is sitting in his camper, reading books. And then there's the Asian, that's flirting with Maggie all the time. He thinks he's the toughest, but all I see, is a guy that used to play videogames all night and only came outside when the sickness came. And Rick, the wannabe cowboy. He's just failing with this whole thing. He got three members of his group wounded, one missing, and there are only idiots left. He's screwing up. His wife is also stupid. The skinny women only sits at the bed of her son, and cries. Like that's gonna help him. In the next room, the redneck lies, shot by his own arrow. How dumb is that? And the black dude with the weird name, he's one useless piece of shit. And the bald guy who got Otis killed, he's just….I don't have words for it.

I laugh at myself, at the group of idiots in front of the house. I see them being dumb in their 'camp.' Now, they've made us dinner. I have to eat the crap they made. And I have to sit in the same room as…_him. _We made a deal for now. I would shut my mouth about what happened this afternoon, and he would leave Beth alone.

_Carol_

I closed the door of Daryl's room. I did not know if I saw it right, but I thought I saw his ears turn red when I gave him a kiss. I smiled at myself. Don't think so stupid, Carol. I went to check on Lori. She was with Carl. It makes me sad, to see her sitting next to the bed, crying.

"Dinner's ready" I said in my softest voice. "You need anything?"

She shook her head. I gave her a sad smile, and left the room. I go back to the kitchen, where Patricia is already putting the food on the table.

"Do we got enough chairs?" I asked her.

"Yes, I think so. How many people again?"

"You're with….five, and we're with…ten, I think. That makes fifteen of us. And we got…fourteen chairs." I put a hand on my hip and sighted. "You got any more chairs?"

"Yah gotta look upstairs. First room on yer left, in the study."

I smiled at her southern accent and thanked her before going upstairs. I knocked on the door of the study, just to make sure I wasn't interrupting anything.

"Come in" the voice of the old man said. I opened the door. I saw the boy from the farm, Jimmy, sitting on the desk and Hershel in the chair. They were obviously having some serious chatting.

"Dinner's ready" I said, and put my best smile on my face. "We're just one chair too short, can I borrow this one?"

I saw some annoyed tinkling in Hershel's eyes, but he stood up. So did Jimmy. They walked past me, without saying anything. Jimmy seemed to be not so well brought up, he let me take the chair downstairs. This was not just some chair, it was a big one.

I sighted, and grabbed the chair with both hands. I grumbled and felt the muscles in my back burn as I tried to pick up the chair. I finally lifted it up a few inches above the ground, and started walking. With small, but fast steps, I made it to the stairs. Now came the hard part. I put the chair down for a second, and sighted again. I was sweating like never before, but I had to take it down stairs. I grabbed the chair again, with both hands, and lifted it up again.

"Need any help?" The voice of the young man scared me. I almost dropped the heavy thing as I looked at Ryan's smiling face.

"God, you scared me!" I laughed at him. Ryan was one of the few people that still talked to me. Besides Daryl. Rick never looked at me since that day on the highway, Dale avoided me too, Lori just pretended there was nothing going on, T-dog only smiled at me with sympathy in his eyes, Glenn just bowed his head when he saw me, Shane was always busy with something else when he saw me coming, Andrea always gave me a look of guilt, but didn't talk to me. You could say I was going through all this alone, if Daryl and Ryan wouldn't be here.

Ryan ran up the stairs, and I still was shocked about the black spot on his cheek. But he kept smiling like there was nothing wrong, when we had just a serious pep-talk in the kitchen this afternoon.

"Let me lift that up for yah" he said, as he kneeled down and lifted the chair like it was nothing. I could see his big muscles from his arms.

"Thank you" I said, and I really meant it. Most of the thing I said these days, were only words. They had no meaning for me. But talking to this young man, made me feel less fake.

"You're welcome," he replied, and walked to the table. "Where do we put this?"

"I think at the very end of it, about…here." I pointed at the spot, and he put the chair there. "I figured Hershel might want to sit there."

"Where's everybody? I thought dinner was almost ready?" He looked around.

"I've just talked to Hershel and Jimmy, but I don't know why there not here. Could you…tell the others?" It was weird for me to ask for help. When I was with Ed, I had to do everything myself. I never asked for help. Ed was dead, and Sophia and I finally started our social live. Now I could ask someone to do something for me, so I could do other stuff.

"Sure. Be right back." He smiled and ran out the door. I smiled and went back to the kitchen.

_Beth_

Dinner was the most awkward situation ever. Everyone was silent, focusing on their meals. I sat with my sister, Jimmy and the Asian guy, Glenn, at one small table, and the rest at the big one. I wanted to talk to Ryan, but when I walked over to him, he shook his head, and nodded towards Jimmy. Jimmy stood there, with his arms over each other, with a face that told me no good. So I sat with him at the small table. Nobody talked. Everyone was silent. Nothing. I looked around, and saw Ryan looking at me. But as soon as I looked back, he found the potatoes very interesting. I looked at my dad, and saw him looking angry with Rick. The mother of Carl, I forgot her name, looked like she had cried a lot today. But nobody said anything.

Suddenly, Glenn turned around towards the big table.

"Does anybody know how to play guitar?" Everybody stopped eating. "Dale found a cool one."

Silent. Glenn laughed awkwardly. "Somebody's gotta play?"

"Otis did" Patricia said, with sadness in her voice. I saw Shane, the guy that got Otis killed, look up.

"Yes" my father said. "And he was very good."

Then there was a silent again, everybody turned back at their food. It stayed this way for a while, until Ryan said something.

"I can play." All heads turned towards him. "A little. I can teach you some things, if you want."

Glenn smiled at him. "Yeah. Cool. Thanks, man."

"No problem."

And that was that, back to awkward situation.


	11. Chapter 11: Birds

**Hey guys! **

**Chapter 11 for you here! Review/follow if you like! ^-^**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or it's characters.)**

**Enjoy;)**

_Chapter 11_

_Ryan_

Pang! Pang! The bottles flew of the wooden fences. I think I did quite good, I had them all. Shane patted me on the shoulder.

"Good job. Keep going." I smiled, and yes, I was proud of myself. It was the first time since yesterday I felt good about myself. I was still angry with Jimmy, and tried to ignore him during the gun training. He looked ridiculous. He was wearing a cowboy costume, it seemed. He wore a hat, gloves of leather, boots of leather, a gilet of…leather. And he was holding the gun sideways. It looked…stupid. I laughed when T-dog said something to him about it.

"Don't give me the gangster-shit, man." I even saw Beth smile a little. I felt my heart make a jump when I looked at her. And then I hated myself again. I made a promise to Jimmy to stay away from her. But I really needed this gun-training. I wasn't going to survive with only an axe and some knifes. When we got here, I walked to the ranch the most far away from her. Jimmy gave me a look of hate, as he put his arm around her. But she looked irritated and shook it off. A voice in my head said 'Karma!' I turned my head away and listened as Shane gave the instructions about the guns.

I was out of bottles to shoot, and T-dog walked up to me.

"You done?" He looked at my targets. "You ready for bigger challenge?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"OK" he said, and he grinned mysteriously. "Can you hit a bird from the sky?"

"What?!" I almost shouted it. "No way! I mean, yeah, I can do that, but I'm not killing an animal!"

"Come on, man, you're killin' walkers all the time."

"Yes, true, but walkers are already dead. In some way. And besides, a bird from the sky doesn't try to kill me."

"You're not gonna tell you're a vegetarian." He laughed. "You're in the south, buddy. We eat meat here."

"I eat flesh, really, I just don't…kill living things."

"OK, but what if I tell yah that bird" and he pointed up, "could be our dinner tonight?"

"Fine, I'll do it." I held up the gun and held it between my eyes. I turned my head a bit towards the weapon, and bowed my elbows a little. I put my finger on the trigger, and looked at the small, moving target in the sky. I held my breath, and shot. The shot echoed over the ranch, and a second later, the bird fell from the sky.

"No way!" T-dog laughed and clapped his hands. "Shane, looks like we got a sniper over here!"

Shane walked to us, and I noticed every head turn towards me, with shocked faces. Andrea put up her thumb and smiled, but I could see she was a bit jealous.

"I think you're done her, bud" Shane said, looking at the place where the bird fell down. Rick walked up to us and stood next to me.

"You shot before?" he asked. I shook my head.

"It was always me and my axe, nothing more, sheriff." He lifted his eyebrows, and was impressed. He then turned to Shane. "Are we going back?"

Shane nodded. "I'll take mister Sniper and Andrea for another class. More difficult." He grinned to me.

"OK, we're done here, people!" Rick shouted. "Break it up!"

Everyone walked back to the cars. Jimmy didn't look at me as he walked to the driver's seat of the blue truck. Beth took this as a change to talk to me.

"You did good" she said, and looked over her shoulder to Jimmy. "I'm sorry about what happened."

"It's not your fault." I tried to smile, and kept the distance between us. It hurt my heart to see her walk away, to her douchebag boyfriend.

_Beth_

I felt so guilty. All the things between Jimmy and Ryan was all my fault. And Ryan knew it. Still, he said it's not because of me. He obviously only said that because he wanted me not to feel miserable. Different than Jimmy. He was mad at me, about nothing. OK, not nothing. I kissed Ryan, he didn't know that, but he did know about us hanging out. And he said it was because of Ryan I acted strange. He didn't think about the thing that my mom and brother got sick and locked up in the barn almost a month ago. No, he didn't think of that, did he?

Ryan didn't know about them in the barn, and if it was up to my dad, it stayed that way. My dad had told me they were leaving soon, when the boy was fit enough for travel. I saw Carl today at gun-practise, so I guessed they would leave about a couple of days. Thinking about that, I suddenly felt a slight pain in my chest. It made me scared, the idea of Ryan leaving. I would never see him again. And I would go back to my normal life, my boring farm life, stuck in this mess with my douchebag boyfriend.

I sat in the truck, between Jimmy and Patricia. We were all silent, nobody wanted to talk. Patricia was more silent than usual, but that was probably because of what happened to Otis. I've known Otis and Patricia all my life, and Patricia was like a second mother to me. It hurt my heart to see her so sad. I put an arm over her shoulder. She turned around to me, and I smiled. I could see the sadness in her eyes, but she smiled back. She didn't deserve the things that happened to her.

When we got back to the farm, Patricia stepped out of the truck. I was gonna follow her, put Jimmy pulled me back at my arm.

"Wait" he said, and his eyes were begging me to stay. I rolled with my eyes and sat back in the seat.

"I just want to talk. About us." He talked slowly, thinking about every word. "I know I've been a dick to you the last couple of weeks…"

"Yes you were" I grumbled. He ignored me and continued.

"….but I want you to know that I still love you. I still care about you, a lot. And I want the things back to what they were. Be a happy couple again." As he was talking, he lay his hand on my knee. I looked him in the eyes, and really saw him.

"Let's just forget about before. Start over again. I love you, Beth." His hand slowly went up to my upper leg, slowly touching it with every finger. It gave me Goosebumps.

"I love you, Beth Greene. I want to go on with you. I want to start a life, with you." His hand reached my belt of my jeans, and I felt my breathe stop. I was scared. I didn't want this. I wasn't ready. He kissed me in my neck, breathing at the skin. His fingers tried to make the belt loose, and he whispered.

I tried to push him away from me, but he pushed my arms away. His hands started going under my shirt, up…

"No!" I screamed, and tried to push him away. "Stop it!" I tried to get his arms of me, but he wouldn't let go. He said he loved me, then why was he doing this? He put his hand over my mouth, pushing my body into the seat with his chest. I started crying. And finally, he let go of me. His eyes were widened, as if he finally understood what he was doing to me. I kicked with my feet at him, screaming and crying. All he did, was staring at me. I opened the door at the passenger's seat, and ran away from the truck.

_Maggie_

I was making the horses ready. Today, I was going into town again, along with…Glenn. I did not know what it was with him, but I just….liked him. A lot. But at the same time, he was very…I don't know. He just told someone about the walkers in the barn, and now my dad was pissed at me. And I was pissed at Glenn. I told him not to tell anyone, and he breaks his promise on the first day. I told myself I would not talk to him today, to make him feel I was pissed. And still, there was a voice deep inside me, that said why he was so cute. He was nice, brave, gentle, polite…._Maggie, stop that! _

I sighted and walked out the stables. I was planning to go look for him, but I stopped walking, when I saw my sister running towards the barn. What was she up to? I knew she visited the barn sometimes to talk with mom, but she seemed very upset this time. I better go check on her.

I walked to the barn, and I could hear her cry. She cried like never before, as if she saw something terrible. I waited around the corner, and listened to her breathing. She was…scared, it seemed. Terrified. What made that happen to her?

I went around the corner and walked to her, slowly. She didn't notice me. She was sitting on her knees, grabbing the grass in her fingers and squeezing.

"Beth?" I asked softly. She looked at me, but hid her eyes behind her hands.

"What's wrong?" I kneeled down next to her. "What happened?"

She sniffed and shook her head. "He…I…in the truck…"

I put my hand on her shoulder, and tried to look her in the eyes, but she stared at the ground.

"What happened in the truck?"

"He… he tried to…his hands" she cried. I put my arm around her shoulder, and wanted to pull her in my arms, but she rejected. She pushed me away from her and tried to get away from me, as if I was a monster.

"Beth? What happened?" I didn't try to touch her again, I would only make it worse.

"He wanted to…..with his hands…" she lay on the ground and cried. It broke my heart to see her like this.

"Can I get you anything? You want to go inside?" I wanted to do anything to help her.

"Yes….no….wait….stay with me, OK?" She sat up and wiped her hair from her face, her eyes red. "He won't…if you're here…" She tried to say something, but she didn't find the right words.

I helped her stand up and hold her arm as we started walking. I noticed she kept distance between us, still a bit scared. I wanted to ask her what happened, and who did this to her, but I kept it to myself. I would ask her later.


	12. Chapter 12: Trust

**Hey people!**

**Chapter 12, and there's a lot going on! Maggie is trying to figure out who would attack her sister, and asks Glenn for help. He starts to get doubts about his own people. Who can he trust, and who not? Beth wants to be safe again, and wants to tell her father about what happened, but she didn't get the chance... Read now! Follow/review if you like! ^-^**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead, the story or the characters)**

**Enjoy;)**

_Chapter 12:_

_Ryan_

"Andrea! Wait!" I ran after the blonde woman, who was pissed as hell. "He didn't mean that, you know it!"

"Stay out of this, Ryan" she answered, with a cold tone in her voice.

"It's too late. I'm already here." I ran to her so I could walk beside her. "He was just trying to get you into it. Shane didn't mean to upset you."

"How can you know that?" she stood still and turned towards me. "He made use of her, trying to get me mad or something, so I could shoot at a branch?!" She almost shouted.

"Yes, that was what he did. It was a practise, and I think he was right."

Her eyes widened, and I thought she was going to slap me, but all she did was bite her lips.

"I didn't mean that the way you think. He was trying to make you that pissed, you can't think anymore. Look, you're a great shot, but you think too much. You have to turn the switch, and just pull the trigger."

Suddenly, she looked ashamed of herself, and looked at the ground. I had almost reached the guilt inside her.

"Let me ask you something; are you going to react like this, every time someone says "Amy", in whatever sentence that may be?"

She looked up again when I said the name of her sister, and I saw anger first, but second, there was agreement. She shook her hand.

"I really made a scene back there, didn't I?" and she smiled a little.

"Well, you got a change to make it right. I told Shane to wait a few minutes, so I could talk to you. And I think I hear his car comin'. Just…talk it out. I do another round in the woods, see if I get to any tracks of Sophia. I meet you back at the camp."

I patted her on the shoulder and went off the road, into the woods.

"Ryan!" I turned around when Andrea shouted my name. "Thank you."

I nodded at her. "No problem."

I continued to walk, and her Shane and Andrea talk. I heard she was still pissed at him, but even more pissed at herself. And that was good. I smiled at myself. I shouldn't be thinking about myself as a good person, because I'm not. I've done things…I've seen things…Things God would sent me to hell for. Since the world had changed, it seemed I got a second chance. A chance for a place in heaven. I tried to help these people, help with the search for Sophia, the surgery of Carl, help with supplies. I did everything I could. And hoped that God saw that.

_Beth_

I screamed and sat up in my bed. I looked around. Thank god, I was in my own bedroom. I dreamed I was in the truck with…._him. _I wiped the tears from my cheeks and took a deep breath. _Keep calm, Beth. He's not here. You're safe, for now. Where was he? Wait, do I want to know that? Yes, you do. What if he comes back for you?_

I shook my head, trying to get the voices out of my head. I needed to make a plan. I think that best I could do, is tell my dad about what happened. He was not in the house when Maggie brought me in. Wait, Maggie… Where was she? She promised to stay with me….She was not here. Not here….What if he comes back, and she's still not here? And my dad, and Patricia? I almost cried again, but I kept it in. I needed to be strong. I just go downstairs, and stay with Patricia. She was probably in the kitchen, just as most of the days. And when my dad comes back, I tell him what happened. He will take care of Jimmy, and everything will be alright.

I stood up from my bed and walked to the mirror next to my closet. I looked at my terrible hair, my red eyes and pale face. I looked like a ghost. I opened my closet, and searched for my beauty case. I put some foundation under my eyes and some mascara on my eyelashes. Much better. I put my hair in a ponytail. It still looked terrible, but I wasn't a ghost anymore. I opened the door of my room, and went downstairs. Patricia wasn't in the kitchen, as I hoped. My dad wasn't home either. It was silent, I could only hear the talking of the people from the camp by the trees. I sighted, trying to keep calm. What do I do now?

"Beth." His voice made my body cold. I could not move, my heart was beating so loud I was sure he could hear it. I slowly turned around, and there he was.

"I'm glad you're OK. Maggie asked me to keep an eye on you while she's into town." He stepped towards me, and I stepped back from him.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier. You know I would never want to hurt you." He took another step, and I stepped towards the backdoor, still focusing on him.

"You know I love you, Beth. And we've talked about this a million times. We both wanted it, remember? We wanted to go further." His voice got softer and softer, till he whispered. I took small steps, further towards the door. "I thought you wanted it. I thought you loved me. You do love me, right?"

Before I could do anything, he was in front of me. I tried to grab the doorknob, but he pushed the door back. I opened my mouth and wanted to scream for help, but he put his other hand on my lips.

"Do I need to tell your dad about you and the axe-guy? Your father hates those people, it would break his heart to see his own daughter with one of them."

I was terrified, and felt helpless. He still hold the door back, I was trapped. Where was everybody? I was lost, he was going to rape me. I knew it. I needed to do something.

He bend over, and tried to kiss me on my cheek. I turned my head away from him, but he pulled it back. I tried to push him away, but he was stronger than me.

Then, I did something I thought I would never do. I scratched with my nails over his cheek, and kicked with my foot in his balls. He let go of me, and collapsed to the ground, shouting of pain. This was my chance. I opened the backdoor and ran outside. My first intention was; find my dad. Where could he be? I looked around, but I didn't see any sign of him. Maggie was gone too, and I did not know where the hell Patricia was.

I heard Jimmy getting up on his feet again, and opening the door. He was coming after me. I started running. Away from him. Away from everything.

_Glenn_

I was so confused. First, Maggie wanted to have sex with me, than she said it was a one-time- thing and didn't talk to me. Then, she was nice again, and wanted to do it again. I found out her family's secret of the walkers in the barn, and told me to keep it to myself. Of course, I could not do that, and told Dale about it. Dale talked to Hershel, and Maggie was pissed at me for that. We went into town together, and I saved her life. She was nice to me again, and then she hated me again. Then she said she cared about me, and kissed me.

And later that day, she asked for my help. Her sister was gone. Maggie had put her to bed after she found her at the barn, crying and scared. She said she was attacked or something, in the truck, by some guy. Maggie gave her some pills and let her sleep, and went in town with me. When we got back, she was gone. Beth had attacked her boyfriend and ran into the woods.

Maggie and I sat on the veranda, and I listened to her.

"….and Jimmy says he has no idea. Do you have any idea who would want to….you know, do that, to Beth?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry. I can't think of anyone….I trust all of them. I trust them with my life. We're not just a group. We're a family."

Maggie looked at the trees, and I could see she was worried. Rick, T-dog and Jimmy were searching for her. Shane, Andrea and Ryan weren't back yet.

"What's the name of the guy with the axe?" Maggie suddenly asked.

"Oh, that's Ryan. Why do you ask that?" I suddenly noticed I didn't know anything about him. I just knew him for like, a week. He just came with us, and was very helpful and all, but could he….

"Do you think he could….?" I couldn't imagine the nice dude that wanted me to learn how to play guitar, doing something like…this.

"He just joined your group, didn't he?" Maggie looked me in the eyes.

"No, but….he can't…he's not…." Her look made me lost in my own words. She was right. Maybe….it was hard to believe.

I heard a car coming up the lawn. I looked up, and saw Shane and Andrea step out. Ryan wasn't with them.

"Ryan was at the gun practise, right?" Maggie stared at the two. "He's not here. Where is he?"

"I'll ask them." I stood up and ran towards Andrea. I noticed her hair was a bit messy, different than usual, and her clothes a bit…I don't know. I don't wanna know.

"Hey, Andrea, you know where Ryan is?"

She looked at me, and I noticed her eyes were not as cloudy as this morning. Since her sister died, she always looked sad, but now…

"Yeah, he's in the woods, searching for Sophia. Why?"

"I just….One of the farmer's daughters was attacked, and we're trying to figure out who did it."

"Attacked? What do you mean, attacked?" This was typical Andrea, always questioning.

"As in…touching…and…you know…"

"O my god….Is she OK?"

"Well, yes…I mean, no. She ran into the woods. The others are looking for her now." Please, stop asking questions, I thought. There's no time for that.

_Ryan_

I saw the farm at the horizon. It was a busy day. And that was cool, I was just really tired. But it helped me to stop thinking about Beth. It seemed that every time I was not focused on something, she slipped into my mind. I was jealous of Jimmy, of course. And I was a bit disappointed in Beth, that she was still with him. But at the other hand, I could understand that. It had probably something to do with her dad.

I had reached the camp, which was silent and empty. Everybody was…gone. Did something happen in here?

"Hey, Monkey, that you?" I heard Daryl shout from his tent. I walked to the opening, and saw him playing with his arrows.

"How yah doin' mister Crossbow?" I said and laughed.

"Very funny. But here's somethin' serious. You gotta get out of here man." He did sounded serious.

"What? Why? Are yah jokin'?" Wouldn't be the first time.

"Did yah rape the blonde girl?" He sat up and looked me in the eyes.

"What?! No, of course not!" And then, the words came to me. "O no…Beth, is she OK?"

"Don' know. The others are searchin' for her. They think you did it. I told them it ain't you, but they didn't believe me. Yah left Shane and Andrea, and they think yah had enough time to make it to the truck and do it to her. You can't prove you were in the woods, and with the girl gone, yeh're guilty, man."

"Fuck…I need to find her. Where did the others go?"

Daryl pointed at the directions. "Yah better don' run into one of them. Good luck, kid."

"Thanks, man." I ran to the tree I considered to be my tent and grabbed my axe. I heard shouting, and saw Patricia running from the house, swearing at me. I started running to the woods. I needed to find her, and I needed to know who had done this to Beth.


	13. Chapter 13: Guilt

**Hellooo peoples!**

**Chapter 13, that means bad luck...? Last chapter was full of drama, and there's more coming! This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but the next is going to be a long one. **

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead, the story or its characters.)**

**Enjoy!;)**

_Chapter__ 13_

_Shane_

"Rick! Rick, wait a sec!" Rick sighted frustrated and turned around. He was too manly to show me he didn't want to talk to me, but I knew him for so long, I saw it immediately.

"C'mon man, this ain't workin'. It's almost dark, we gotta go back." We've been out here for hours, and I'm kinda done with it. I already had a busy day, with the gun training, the search in the nearby town, Andrea…..and now this. One of the farmer's daughters was missing and probably sexually insulted and everybody thought Ryan had something to do with it. Which was ridiculous of course.

"Rick, look at me" I said, trying to look him in the eyes. "Ryan didn't do it, OK? He was with me and Andrea, and the others were already back when he left. Do you really think he turned into frickin' Usain Bolt or somethin'? I tell yah, Ryan's a good kid."

"How do you know that for sure? We've only known him for over a week. He could be anybody."

"He helped savin' yer son, for Christ's sake!" I was almost shouting this. Couldn't he see this was ridiculous? "He's been one of our best man during the whole search for the girl. He's been helping everybody!"

Rick sighted and put a hand over his eyes, like he always did when he needed to think. "Look, Hershel wants us to leave the farm. I thought maybe if we help him find his daughter, he could see we can work together."

"And let us stay?" I laughed, because it was stupid. "That's a long shot, man."

"I know. I know it is." He sighted, again. I saw how tired he was, with all this stress. I felt sorry for him.

"Look, man" I put a hand on his shoulder. "Yah don' have to do it alone, yah know that, right? I'm here too."

He looked up and smiled sadly. "I know. We just gotta find this girl, and then I can negotiate with Hershel. It will be alright."

"Yeah, it will. Let's go find this girl."

I would just play along, if that made him feel better. But I had to get one thing straight.

"But yah know Ryan didn't do it, right?"

"It is not logical, like you say it. If you were as far away from the farm as you say, it wasn't him. But we don't know him. We don't know what he's capable of."

"Yah really think he could do such a thing?" I suddenly had a little flashback from myself and Lori, in the CDC. I had drank too much, and I needed to see her, touch her, feel her….

"I don't know. We gotta find that out."

_Patricia_

I sat on the veranda, and looked over the fields. I stopped making dinner, my hands were too shaky. I could only think of the poor girl. I've known her since she was one day old. I've seen her grow up. She was part of my family. I could not imagine a world without her.

I closed my eyes, and prayed. _Please, God, don't take her away from me. Not her. She's so young. Please, God, don't take her too. Not like Otis._

I felt tears rolling down my cheeks as I opened my eyes. The world already got a bit cruel with not having him.

It was all their fault. Those people from the city. They made everything turn bad. Because of them, Otis was dead, and now Beth was missing.

I looked at their camp, and saw the short-haired women go inside the camper. Lori, the mother of Carl, was with the chickens. The old man was getting water, I think. Suddenly, I had an cruel idea coming up. We had one suspect on this whole case, and that was the young man with the fire axe. I had seen him this afternoon, he came back to get his stuff. Well, not all of it.

I stood up, and walked towards their camp. If I wanted to find out if he had done it, I should look for evidence. Something that could tell me if he was this cruel person that would hurt my Beth. I saw him walking towards the tree in the middle this afternoon, so there must be his bag. I found it, hanging at a low branch. I grabbed it, and walked back towards the house. I was not investigating here, that would be to obvious.

I put the bag down on the kitchen table, and started to put all what's inside on it. I found three knives, a map, some clothes, a bottle of water, a small walkie-talkie, binoculars, a help kit, a compass, a sketch-book, pencils and a photo-album. When I put the last thing on the table, something fell out between the pages. It was a small, grey, paper. A newspaper article. I picked it up. There was something about a sale at the book store, but when it turned it around, my heart stood still. By only reading the title, I felt like I was going to black out. I needed Hershel to see this. And fast.

_Jimmy_

Where did it go wrong? The wounds on my cheek were still bleeding, even when Patricia had put a bandage on it. I was searching through the woods, along with Hershel. He kept on shouting his daughter's name. Every time, I heard his voice, I felt so guilty. It was my fault she was gone now. But I thought….Beth and I had spoken of it some many times. And we mad out a lot. Beth always resisted a little, but she didn't mean that. She just…played. Right? But this….this was different. She never reacted so…dramatically. Drama, there was it again. I could not stand drama. Beth knew this, and still….Now, everybody thought Ryan tried to rape her. Hershel was going to kill him with his own shotgun. And there was another slice of guilt.

"Beth? Honey?" Hershel shouted. His face was red and his eyes desperate. It was almost dark, and we still hadn't find her.

"Hershel, maybe we should go back" I said to him. He looked at me like he was going to strangle me if I said that one more time. "Maybe the others found her. Maybe she's already back."

"But what if she's not? Then she's still out there! And I'm not letting that happen!" It was all madness I saw in him at that moment. A father, willing to give anything up to find his girl.

"We're not following any track right now. We're just wandering around. We should've gone with the other people. They know how to find trails and such."

"Listen to me, boy" he said, and looked me in the eyes. "This is my land, my farm, and she is my daughter. I will find her, and she will be OK. When I find her, those people will leave immediately. I'm not letting anyone else hurt my family. Understood?"

At that moment, I could almost die of guilt. He was thinking they did it. I admit, I hated them, but I could not live with this… I wanted them to leave the farm as much as he did, but not like this.

I had to tell Hershel it was me. I had to. It was the best for Beth, for the farm, for everyone. I did not know what he would do with me. I knew Hershel since I was a kid. My parents were friends with the Greenes. Hershel was so happy to see his daughter had found someone descent. A young man that could help him with his work on the land. A man he could give his farm when he passed away. Beth and I only got together because Hershel thought it was a good idea. We had feelings for each other, I loved Beth. But since the whole thing with Ryan, I was not sure if she felt the same about me.

Suddenly, I felt such a like a jerk. I loved Beth, and I had scared her. I had hurt her. I wanted her back. I wanted to tell her I'm sorry. I wanted to hold her in my arms and tell her everything will be alright, like I did a thousand times. Since her mom got sick, she was always sad. She didn't say much, and didn't sleep much. But since this group came, I saw some life inside her. I saw her smile again, and talk. She slept at night, and did the things she used to do before all this. And I was claiming her, like a doll.

I wasn't making her happy. I made her scared, made her sad. We only had arguments, every time we talked. She didn't have that with Ryan. He made her smile, he made her feel save. I figured I wasn't the right person for Beth. I wasn't the man she deserved. I wasn't the man that deserved Hershel's farm. I was dangerous. I needed to get this of my chest.

Without noticing, we were heading back to the farm. We walked up the land, Hershel taking big steps towards the house. I saw Rick and the others standing by the veranda. They looked up as they saw us coming.

"Find anythang?" Hershel asked.

"No, I'm sorry" Rick said. "We'll go look for her tomorrow."

"No, you're not. I want…."

O shit.

"Hershel" I interrupted him. "I need to tell you something. I was…."

"Look!" Maggie suddenly screamed. She pointed at the forest behind the barn. Between the trees, Ryan and Beth walked up. Ryan held his axe leaning on his shoulder like always, looking though. Yes, he was the man Beth deserved. Beth, she looked….beautiful.

Maggie started running towards them, crying and smiling at the same time. I wanted to ran after her, but I didn't seem like a good idea to me. Beth looked at me, but didn't seem scared. Of course not, she has axe-guy looking after her.

Hershel walked as fast as he could towards his daughters. Maggie held her sister in her arms, crying. Beth only smiled. Hershel didn't cry, he just thanked God for bringing back his daughter. He kissed her forehead and hugged her.

Then, he let go of her, and turned to Ryan.


	14. Chapter 14: Explain

**Hello humans!**

**Chapter 14, and it's a long one, as promised. Almost 3200 words! And it's the most dramatic chapter EVER! I had so much fun writing this, and I'm looking forward to next chapter. And we know what's coming, right? It's almost Walker-time! Read now!**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own the Walking Dead, story or most of the characters.)**

**Enjoy ;)**

_Chapter 14_

_Ryan_

I had been out here for hours. Where the hell was she? It would be dark soon, and I could not think about what could happen if she stayed out here. I was in the middle of nowhere. The tracks suddenly stopped. In the middle of the path. They just went cold. In front of a tree, they stopped. I was frustrated, and kicked with my feet against the wood.

"Damn!" I planted my fist in it. "Please, Beth, where are you?"

I fell on my knees. I was so tired. I had been searching for Sophia yesterday, and the day before. My feet were so sour. My knees were almost black of all the burses. And my head, my head was spinning all around. I couldn't stand straight anymore. I collapsed to the ground, leaning with my back against the tree.

I couldn't believe it. She was gone. I let her go away. I let her slip between my fingers. It had been so long since I cared so much about someone. Now she was gone. I felt desperate. Useless. Stupid.

I leaned with my head on my knees, and looked at the ground. It was brown, of the mud and the leafs. I just stared at it, not knowing what to do. I had nowhere to go now. I couldn't go back, if I did, Hershel would kill me instantly. Rick would be very disappointed in me, I could almost see his face. And Carol, I could imagine the look on her face, she would turn away from me, ashamed. Carl, o man, what would he think? He probably didn't even know what was going on.

I felt so horrible, and I knew this feeling. People told people about something I didn't do. That happened to me before. I already had to disappoint my family. I didn't want that again. These people had enough trouble, I couldn't bring mine to them too.

I noticed I hadn't brought my backpack with me. They will search through my stuff, and they will find out who I am. I should've been more careful.

I sat up when I suddenly felt something in my neck. Something wet. It was warm, and rolled down my back. I reached to it with my hand, and looked at the liquid on my fingers. It looked like water, but I knew it wasn't. I smelled at it, and it was….salty. What was dripping in my neck, was a tear. A human tear.

I looked up, into the tree. Almost at the top, sat someone. I saw leather boots, jeans, a white t-shirt, blonde hair…..

"O. My. God." I whispered to myself. I stood up as quickly as I could. It felt like I just drank a Red Bull, I had an energy boost. Seeing her fragile body in the tree, made me live up again.

"Beth! Beth!" I shouted, with no control over my own voice, all of the happiness and relieve. She looked up, her face all wet and her eyes red.

"Ryan?" she said with a soft voice.

"Yes! Yes! It's me!" I could almost cry of happiness. "Come down, please! Everybody's lookin' for yah!"

"They do?"

"Yes, yer pa's worried sick! Come down!"

She shook her head, her eyes full of sudden fear. "I….I can't."

"What's wrong? Are you stuck?"

"No, no, I'm…." she took her breath, and I saw shame on her face.

"Are you…afraid?" I asked carefully. She looked me in the eyes, and nodded slowly. "That's OK. I'll help you. You climbed up there, so you can come down too, right?"

I planted my axe in the tree, just above my shoulder, so I could use it to climb into the tree. I put my hand on the axe, and my left foot on the wood. I pulled myself up, and put my right foot on the axe, removing my hand. With both my hands, I grabbed a branch, pulling myself up again.

I felt my muscles burning, and I bit my lips till I tasted blood. But I didn't gave up. Every move got me closer to Beth. She was scared and probably hurt, I needed to help her. She needed me. And I needed her.

When I had finally reached her, I took a pause, sitting in front of her in the top of the tree. I looked into her green eyes, full of tears and surrounded by red spots.

"You're OK?" I asked softly. She just looked at me, and smiled a little. Only with her lips, her eyes had the same neutral expression. "Here, take my hand, and we'll go down together, OK?"

I held out my hand, and she took it. She was shaking all over her body, but didn't say anything as we went down the tree.

When we finally reached the ground, I couldn't help myself. I had to hold her, for a minute. I put my arms around her and pulled her body against mine.

"I'm so glad you're OK." I whispered. She was still shaking, and I felt she was uncomfortable at first. But then, she put her arms over my back and leaned with her face in my chest. I could feel her breath against my skin, and never felt so happy. "Please, don't do this ever again."

"I won't. I promise." Her voice was fragile and soft, but I knew she meant it.

"You wanna sit down?" She felt really weak in my arms, and I had the feeling she was about to black out. She let go of me and nodded. I held her by her arm as I let her to a fallen tree. It seemed like a nice bench to sit on.

She sat down, and I sat at next to her, my body facing turned towards her. She didn't look at me, she started at the wood, scratching with her nails in the green. Her hair was all messy, her mascara was all over her face, her clothes were dirty and she had burses all over her arms. And I thought she looked beautiful. But at the same time, I was worried. What happened?

"You wanna tell me what happened this afternoon?" I asked carefully. She didn't answer. She just looked down. I couldn't see her face.

"I heard somethin' from the others, about….you know." I was bad at this. I was afraid I would make her cry again.

"Yer pa thinks…..I did it." Now I had her attention. She looked up, with sudden fear in her eyes. "He probably wants to kill me if I ever come back to the farm."

"No…." it was a soft whisper, but she cleared her throat and started again. "No, he can't do that."

"He thinks I did it, and he's not gonna stop that until he finds who really did it. Right now, you and that person are the only ones who know that."

She had put a hand over her mouth, and I saw the dilemma. "Was it…Jimmy?"

I never saw someone so scared at that moment. When I sat his name, she almost jumped up from the tree.

"You can't tell my pa. You can't!"

"Why not?" I made fists of my hands, and felt so much hate for that kid. So it was him?!

"If you do that, he….my father's gonna kick him out. He's not gonna kill him, he can't." She sighted frustrated. "You don't understand…"

"Then explain it to me!" My voice wasn't soft anymore. It was at the edge of yelling. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. "Beth, he attacked you! He almost…raped you! Why do you still protect him?!"

"Because…because….O lord…" She looked desperate, lost in her own words. I felt guilty for pushing her this way. I took her hand in mine, and told her I was sorry.

"I don't want to push you, I just….don't understand. This guy…."

"My father and his father wanted us to marry." She said it in one breath, like it was a big secret she wanted to tell me all along. I let go of her hand, shocked.

"What?"

"Before all this sickness started, my dad and Jimmy's father wanted us to marry. My dad thought it was a good idea, because Jimmy had lived on the land his whole life and he could take care of our farm after my dad passed away. My dad wanted to give it to Shawn, my brother, but he was going to medical school to become a surgeon.

Jimmy's parents got the strange plague, just as my mom and Shawn. Jimmy now lives with us, and my dad wants us to marry soon."

I stood up from the tree, not knowing what to say. She knew this the whole time. She knew this, when she kissed me. She knew this, when she hugged me. She knew this, every time we talked. I felt…betrayed.

_Beth_

It was a moment of silence. I knew I screwed up. All I wanted, was for everything and everyone to be happy and normal. And what did I do? I made everything worse.

First, I wanted my parents to be happy, so I started dating Jimmy. They've never been so happy. I liked Jimmy, and he liked me. But I don't know. It didn't feel….right. I loved him, but I've known him for so long. We even played in the mud together when we were about 8 years old. But seeing my father happy again after Shawn and Maggie not wanting the farm…it was worth it.

I started noticing Jimmy had real feelings for me. He started talking about "the first time", and suddenly my dad asked when we were going to marry. He's old fashioned, to him, it is normal to get married at seventeen. But I wasn't ready for all that. I'm still not ready. Maybe, I never will.

Then, the sickness came. Jimmy's parents got infected, and Otis put them in the barn with the others. My dad told him he could stay with us, until there was a cure. Then, my mom got infected too. She was walking towards the fence, and got grabbed. A few days later, Shawn got sick too. My father didn't want any other people on our farm, but he didn't have a choice. He was unhappy again, and now, I was screwing my relationship up. That would make it even worse.

I looked at Ryan. He walked over to a tree. I did not know what to say. I didn't lie to him, I just….. He knew I was with Jimmy. I just never told him about the marriage.

"Ryan" I said, as I stood up. "Please, let me just…."

"No" he said, and his voice was….calm. "I understand."

"You… you do?" I walked over to him. He had still turned his back on me.

"You didn't have a choice. I understand. But why didn't you….tell me?"

"I…I was scared, I think. I was…confused." It was true. "I had this idea in my head, that I needed to merry Jimmy, and have kids, and make my father proud. But then….you came, and…I started feeling something…."

He turned around. "What?"

I sighted, choosing my words carefully. I was scary to tell him about my feelings. It was that subject you just can't describe. There are no words for it.

"When I first saw you, when I first talked to you, when I touched you, I…felt different. It was so not similar as with Jimmy. I feel like, I don't know."

"You mean…love?" An awkward silence followed. I thought about the word. Love. Was that the right meaning? Was it?

"I, I think it is." I'm in love? Really, in love? Yes, yes, it makes sense. All the things with Jimmy, I did that for my father. The things with Ryan, they felt…natural.

"No. I know it." I looked him in the eyes. "I'm in love with you."

It felt like the right thing to say. I was in love. In love. I felt the need of oxygen, so I sighted. This was good.

"I think, I think I am too." He stepped closer to me. "I think I'm also in love."

I wanted to step towards him, but I didn't. "Wait. I can't. We can't. I have to marry Jimmy. I have to…"

"Beth, think about what you're saying. You're only thinking about your father. The marriage is what your father wants. That's what Jimmy wants. Think about yourself. Is that really your future?"

I looked at the ground. Ashamed. _What do I do? Am I marring Jimmy, like my father wants? Shall I make him proud, by doing what he expects me to? Or do I choose my own path? _

"Beth, please, think about it. All you're worrying about, is what your father expects from you. But you're his daughter. He loves you. He's supposed to. As a real father, he will accept every single choice you make."

I looked him in the eyes. He took my hands in his, and I was scared at first. I would keep that fear of touching people for the rest of my life, thanks to Jimmy. But after a few seconds. I knew he was not going to hurt me.

"I, I want to be with you" I whispered. He smiled, and put a lock of hair behind my ear. I felt my cheeks turning red, as I bend over and planted my lips against his. It felt as the right thing to do. I felt his warmth, his heartbeat, it made me feel save again. It felt like we were one and the same person at the moment. It felt like ages, before I let go of him. My head was a bit dizzy, but I felt happy. He smiled at me, stunned.

"Well, that was random" he joked. I laughed, and felt good about myself.

But not for long. I had one confession of my chest, and I had a whole list to go.

"We gotta go back" I said, and the nice feeling I just had disappeared. Back to reality. "What's my dad going to say?"

"I don't know" Ryan said. "We gotta find out."

"What is he going to do if I tell him about Jimmy?" The idea of Jimmy leaving the farm sounded good and bad at the same time. "He can't just leave on his own. He will get sick out there."

"We'll figure something out. Don't worry. I'm with you, OK?"

"I know. I'm just scared…"

"You just tell the truth, OK?" He held my hands close to him. "The truth lasts longer than the lies."

I smiled. I knew I made the right choice to stay with Ryan. It was weird, we only knew each other for like, two weeks. But it felt so…real.

"Let's go" I said. "I've worried my dad and sister for too long. I will tell the truth, and everything will be alright."

"That's the spirit" Ryan said, as he put his arm over my shoulder. He gave me a soft kiss at my cheek.

"You can't do that with my dad around, yah know that?"

"Really?" He pulled his arm back. "That's a shame. Lucky I got my axe."

"What?" I laughed, as he pulled the axe out of the tree he planted it in.

"You don' know?" He held his axe up, trying to keep a straight face, but I saw he was laughing. "This is Betty. We were supposed to marry soon, but…"

"That's rude!" I gave him a slap on his arm, but laughed. "Not funny!"

"OK, OK, I'll leave Betty for you, my love" he said, with a dramatic tone in his voice.

"Seriously, stop it. Which way do we need to go?"

Ryan let his axe rest on his shoulder, and he looked very sexy like that. "I came from there, so we take my path, I think. I'll track myself back to the farm."

"That sounded weird."

"Just keep walkin'."

It didn't seem so far to the farm. It felt we were there too fast. Perhaps because we were joking all the time. Ryan and I were so childish, but it was so funny. I said things I never said before. I could almost hear my mother complaining; _"That's not how a lady should speak." "You're not a man, are you?" "O lord, Beth!" "Wash your mouth with soap! Immediately!"_

My belly was hurting and I couldn't even walk straight. But then, we had reached the farm. I could see my house between the leafs. I stood still, in the middle of the path. Ryan turned around, and he smile faded away.

"We're almost there" I said, and I felt the nerves in my stomach.

"I know." He walked back to me, and grabbed my hand. "We can do it. You can do it. Everything's gonna be OK."

I looked at him, and nodded. We could do this. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then, I stepped through the bushes, up on the farmland of my family.

I saw Maggie jump up at the veranda and pointing at me. She came running, spreading her arms. She was crying like a crazy person, and I never felt so guilty. I had made her worried sick, that was for sure. She jumped in my arms, and I almost fell on the ground. She smiled and laughed at the same time, so happy to see me. She looked at me and took my head in her hands.

"Don't yah ever do that again, yah hear me?"

"I won't, I promise." I gave a quick look at the house, and saw Jimmy standing. He smiled a little, and I smiled back.

Behind my sister, I saw my dad running. I saw his face was red, and tears streamed out of his eyes.

"Beth! My dear Beth!" He put his arms around me and kissed me on my forehead. He held me for a second, but then let go of me. He looked at something behind me. His eyes went dark, and madness was all over his face.

I turned around, and saw Ryan standing.

"Dad, I can explain…" before I could say more, he had grabbed his shotgun.

"No, dad, wait!" I saw his finger on the trigger. He was pulling it back. I followed my instinct, and pushed the gun to the left, right at the moment he shot it.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. I saw my dad's shocked face, and felt Maggie's hands on my shoulder.

I turned around to Ryan, and saw him falling to the ground.

"No!" I screamed. I pushed Maggie away from me, and ignored my dad's questions. I ran to the body at the ground. Ryan lay on his back, blood coming out of the corner from his mouth. He had a huge wound on his left shoulder.

With his hands full of blood, he reached to my face.

"Beth…." he whispered. Then his eyes rolled away, and his head fell to the ground.

**R.I.P Ryan...? Or is he still alive? Find out next chapter, uploaded on Friday!**


	15. Chapter 15: The articles

**Hey everyone!**

**Finally, chapter 15! Some of you were actually very worried about Ryan. I was too, and I hope he will be alright...This chapter; Beth thinks she can trust Ryan, that she nows everything that matters from him. But Patricia tells her a different story. She found some strange papers in Ryan's bag, which might tell them some horrors from Ryan's past...Dale's trying to keep everything cool in the group, but has his doubts too. Ryan has weird dreams, and he struggles to find a way to the surface. **

**Find out here! Follow/review if you like!**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own the Walking Dead, storylines and most of the characters)**

**Enjoy ;)**

_Chapter 15: The articles_

_Beth_

"No!" I turned around to my dad. "Why would you do that?"

"Beth, he….he attack…" my dad was shocked because of my reaction.

"No! That wasn't him. It was….somebody else!" I couldn't tell him it was Jimmy. Not yet. I couldn't let my ex-boyfriend get shot too. "He helped me, you asshole!"

That scared myself. I never talked to my father like that. I never called him names, or insulted him. This was my first time, ever.

I turned back to Ryan. His eyes were still closed, and blood was streaming out of his shoulder. I lay my ear against his chest. _Please, please, please…._A slight heartbeat. I started crying, that was how happy I felt at that moment.

"Please, dad, help him!" I yelled. "Please, don't let him die!"

My dad stood there, still shocked, with the shotgun in his hand. "I….I…"

I never saw him like this. He always knew exactly what to say, but now….I lay my face against Ryan's chest and cried. Everything could go back to normal, and then this happened.

"Shane, you get his right shoulder, I'll take his legs." I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up, and saw Rick kneeling down next to Ryan. "We'll take him inside. He's gonna be fine."

I let go of Ryan, and watched the two men lift him up. They walked as fast as they could towards the house. My dad looked at me, then to Ryan, and nodded, as if he understood what was going on. He started walking towards the house too. I walked after them, but Maggie pulled me back. She looked me in the eyes.

"He didn't do it?" she asked.

"No! No! I told you!" I wanted to go to Ryan, why did she keep me here? "Let me go!"

"Who did it?" She held my face in her hands. "Beth, tell me. Who was it?"

"I can't tell you." I tried getting her hands of me, but she was strong.

"What do you mean, you can't tell me?"

"It was Jimmy, OK?" Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened. "Don't tell dad, not yet. I want to tell him myself."

"That filthy…."

"Maggie!" I shouted. She looked up, still mad. "You can't tell him, not now. I'll tell him myself, OK?"

She narrowed her eyes, but nodded. "Yah got my word."

"Please, let me go inside, now. I need to help him!"

"No. First, you have to take a shower. You look terrible."

"There's no time for that! I need to…"

"Didn't you hear him? He's gonna be fine. Dad and Patricia will help him."

"But I…"

"No" she said, with a demanding tone in her voice. "I'll take you to him, after you got a shower."

_Dale_

I watched as Maggie took her sister inside. I sat on the veranda, with the rest of the people. The boy, Jimmy, was kicking in the grass, and I saw a cloudy look in his eyes. He was thinking, and very far away with his thoughts.

Lori talked to Carl, at the other side of the veranda. She told him a new version of what happened just yet. A more friendlier one. I wish that everything was as in Lori's stories.

Carol played with a white flower in her hand, constantly looking at the door. It was clear she cared about the boy, and she was worried. She was too sweet for this world.

T-dog stood up from the bench and went inside. He couldn't handle the idea of not doing anything.

Andrea bit on her nails, thinking.

Glenn couldn't sit still. He was constantly moving. He was nervous, and I could relate to that. He had told me about the walkers in the barn, and about Lori, and he was not sure who he could trust any more. I wasn't either. Don't get me wrong, Ryan was a nice kid, but I didn't know him for that long.

Out of nowhere, Daryl jumped up the veranda.

"What the hell is going on here?" The rough man interrupted the silence around the house. "I can't take a nap, or someone shoots the other."

Lori looked at the man, irritated. Daryl ignored her, and looked at every one of us.

"Well? Is somebody gonna tell me or what?"

I took a deep breath. "There's been an accident."

"What? What kinda accident. C'mon, don't play any games with me."

"Ryan's been shot" Andrea spit out. Daryl turned towards her.

"Goddamnit!" he said in himself. He opened the door and almost pulled it out of its hinges.

"Daryl, wait." I stood up and lay my hand on his shoulder. "Hershel's doing everything he can. All we can do, is wait here."

I saw his muscles contract and bite his lips, but he slammed the door. "What happened?"

"It's…complicated. See, the girl and…"

"The old man shot 'im, didn't he?" He looked me in the eyes. All I could do, was shut my mouth and nod. He laughed sarcastically.

"Son of a bitch…"

"Hey, careful with yer words, will yah?" Jimmy said. Daryl turned towards him, with that scaring look in his eyes.

"What did yah say to me?"

"Let's not do that right now, OK?" I stood between the two men, and did the best I could to keep myself calm as I looked at Daryl. "We're not helping anyone with fooling around. Just, keep it calm."

Daryl chuckled, but sat down, next to Carol. She quickly hid the flower under her shirt, as if Daryl wasn't meant to see that. I didn't say anything about it. I would ask her about it later.

_Patricia_

"Beth?" I softly knocked at the door. "Are yah dressed?"

"Yes, come on in!" I opened the door, and closed it quickly behind me.

"What's wrong?" Beth's voice was suddenly suspicious. I turned to her, and glanced.

"I'm so glad you're back." I walked to her, and held her in my arms.

"Is there something wrong with Ryan?" she asked.

"No, no, he's doing good. We almost got the bullet out. It's something else."

I couldn't lie to her. I needed her to see this. I didn't know what he told her, and if he did anything, but it felt like the right thing to do.

"What is it?" she turned back to the mirror and started brushing her hair.

"I think there's something yah should see." I put my hand in the pockets of my skirt, and felt the paper. The thin, grey paper of the article I found this afternoon. I grabbed it.

"What's that?" Beth stopped brushing and turned around. I sighted, and handed over the paper.

"Read the title." That should tell her enough.

"_Police still searching for murderer/rapist_….Patricia, what is this?"

"There's more…" I gave her the other papers.

"_Suspect women murders Atlanta on the run_, _New evidence Women-murders, Suspect Atlanta women-murders seen in Macon, Murderer/ Rapist Atlanta Women murders finally caught…_"

Her voice faded away. "No."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"No, it was not him! He didn't do that to me." She looked up, scared. "You didn't tell my dad, please don't tell me…"

"No, I was going to, but then I saw you comin' up the fields, and I thought you needed to see it first."

"Maybe they caught the wrong guy" Beth started, reading the titles again. "He's innocent. I know it. It can't be him…"

"Beth, I'm sorry, but he…he's dangerous. Hershel's gonna kick him of the land as soon as he's fit enough."

"If he finds out. IF!"

"Beth, yah can't keep this a secret. You gotta…"

"I will talk with Ryan about it first, hear his side of the story." She put down the articles and picked up her brush again. "He didn't do it, trust me."

"How can yah know that?" That question shut her mouth. She looked at my reflection in the mirror.

"I just know it" she said eventually.

_Beth_

It seemed impossible. It couldn't be him. I stared at the picture in the newspaper. His eyes were erased, but for the rest…it did look like him.

I sat down on my bed. Why didn't he tell me about this. _God, Beth, you're so stupid! Of course he didn't tell yah! What were yah thinkin'? That he was like 'Hey, Beth, I'm a rapist and murderer with an axe, and now I'm gonna kiss yah!'_

I read the articles again. The first were only talking about a suspect, but the last were all about the rapist/murderer. I suddenly remembered my dad reading a newspaper about it, and something on the news. But that was like, a month ago. No wonder nobody recognized him.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was still wet, all brushed. I had fixed my make-up, and I had new clothes on. I looked presentable. Time to go downstairs.

I ran down the stairs, and my hair was already messy again when I got at the end. I wanted to go to the 'surgery room' right away, but Rick, Shane, and T-dog sat in the living room, and blocked my way.

"You can't go in there, yet" Rick said. Maggie came out of the kitchen, with a glass of water.

"Here, Beth, drink something." She had put a fake smile on her face, but I could see her cold eyes watching every move I made. "How are yah feelin'?"

"I'm better, thanks. How's Ryan?"

"I was just checkin' on him. I'll let you know how he's doin' OK? Just, sit here." She put the glass on the table and moved a chair, so I could sit. She walked to the other room, giving me a friendly pat on my shoulder when passing by.

I drank the water, clearing my throat. I hadn't noticed how thirsty I was. It must've been like a day since my last drink.

I felt the eyes of the people in the living room, staring at my back. They all wanted to know what happened, but I wasn't ready to tell them. Not yet.

I stared through the window of the kitchen. I wanted to see the trees, the sky, the grass, but all I saw, were those words from the article; _Murderer/Rapist finally caught….in prison…..sentenced for a life time in prison…_

I shook my head, trying to get the pictures out of my sight.

"Beth? You OK?" Suddenly, Rick stood next to me. The bearded man looked tired, but focused. His blue eyes looked at my face, oceans full of worries.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm fine." I smiled at him, and hoped he would walk away. But he didn't. Instead, he pulled back a chair and sat next to me.

"I know this must be hard for yah, but I need to know…..was it one of my people?"

I shook my head. "No."

Rick closed his eyes, relieved. His eyes immediately looked clearer when he opened them. "Thank you. That was all I needed to know." He stood up, and pushed the chair back. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Good luck? With what? At that moment, my dad walked out of the surgery room. He looked at me, and walked out the door. His hands were full of blood, but he didn't want to wash them in the kitchen. Not with me around. Patricia walked up to me.

"He's OK. He's sleeping" she said, to everyone in the room. I heard a lot of sighting outside, and a second later, the creepy redneck walked in.

"The bullet's out, he lost a lot of blood, but he's gonna be fine."

"Yeah, he better be" Daryl said, as he pushed Patricia aside to go to Ryan. What the hell? I had to talk to Ryan first! I had much more important questions and things to talk about than crossbows and monkeys!

Rick went out the door, after my dad. Shane quickly thanked Patricia and walked after Daryl.

_Ryan_

I dreamed I was back in prison again. I was in my own cell, reading a book titled '_The boy in the striped pyjama's'. _I got it from another prisoner, someone who robbed a gas station, I thought. I was reading the book, when my cell suddenly opened. The guard told me to get out, and run. I put the book under my arm, and did as he said. I ran from the cellblock, and when I turned around, I saw the guard getting eaten by walkers.

I ran as fast as I could, through the halls of the prison. My first intention was; get out! You're free now! But I didn't. I couldn't. There was no life for me out there, not anymore. All the people who see me, would think about the things. The things that happened.

So I ran further through the halls. Suddenly, a guard grabbed my arm. He pulled me to the cafeteria, into the kitchen, and told me to wait here. So I did. I waited and waited. For ever. Alone in the dark.

**Some weird stuff, right? Next Chapter will be uploaded on Sunday! If you can't wait till then, you can read my newest story; Survivor's Diary. It's about sixteen year old Vicky, who's not such a big writer, but her dad wants her to begin a diary. It should help her with understanding the death of her mom, but instead, it helps her staying alive during the apocalypse. Please review if you like ^-^**


	16. Chapter 16: Confessions

**Hey guys!**

**O my god, chapter 16! You're probably wondering what's true and what not. So does Beth, she doesn't know what to believe anymore. Hershel's almost dying of the guilt, he shot an innocent man! Andrea lifts her eyebrows if Rick's gathering everyone for a special meeting in the house...? Find out here!**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead, storylines, and not all of the characters)**

**Enjoy! ;)**

_Chapter 16: Confessions_

_Beth_

I stayed with Ryan that night. I sat with a chair at his bed, staring at his face. I held the articles in my hands, not knowing what to do with them. Patricia promised not to tell anyone, but who did knew about them? Jimmy? Rick?

I had barely eaten that night. The thoughts kept dancing through my head, scaring the hunger away. After my dad had checked Ryan again, I sneaked in. My father hadn't looked at me since this afternoon. He seemed to ashamed of himself. He better be. He almost killed an innocent person. A healthy person. The person I was in love with…

I took a deep breath and went with my fingers through my hair. Maggie had been looking at me all night, narrowing her eyes every time I looked back. She then looked away to Jimmy. When Jimmy felt she was looking at him, he looked up, and Maggie suddenly found her dinner much more interesting. Jimmy then looked at me, and I stared at something else. I didn't want to talk to him, and I tried to be with at least one other person in the room if he was there. God knows what would happen if I was alone with him…

Ryan grumbled, and moved his fingers a little. Patricia said he was going to be OK. I hoped so. I had a lot to ask him. And I hoped he had some good answers. He couldn't talk himself out of this.

His eyelashes trembled, and he blinked a few times, and opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling.

"What? No, no…" he whispered, panicking. He had awaken like this for a few other times. He kept forgetting where he was.

"It's OK. You're safe" I said. The other times, he just closed his eyes again, and slept on. But this time, he turned his head towards me.

"Beth?" His eyes weren't that cloudy any more, and he seemed completely awake. "Are you alright?"

"What?" He was laying in someone else's bed, shot, and he was asking me if I was alright?

"Are you OK?" He tried to sit up, but his left shoulder hurt too much. His arm was put in a bandage, and he wasn't able to move it. "What the…"

"I'm fine. Do you remember what happened?" I put the papers away and kneeled down by the bed.

"Yes, it's all coming back. Are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"I thought you got shot…"

"No, no, I'm fine. You're fine. We're all fine." He glanced at me, relieved. I wanted to smile back, but not with the papers in my head. I needed to ask him. Maybe this was not the right time, but I had to know.

"Is there…something you want to ask me?" Ryan suddenly asked. He must've read the expression on my face. I opened my mouth, but shut it. How was I'm supposed to ask that? "Are you a sentenced-to-prison murderer/rapist?"

"You can ask me everything you want" he said. His eyes were so sweet, I couldn't believe that those were two big lies.

"I….I…" _C'mon, Beth, spit it out! _"Patricia found some papers in your bag."

His face got really pale. His eyes widened. There was disappointment in there, but also shock.

"What…How…"

"Ryan, I need to know, is it true?"

_Hershel_

What was I doing? I let these people on my land, and they were almost ready to leave, then I shot one of them, and made them stay even longer on my land.

I put my hand over my eyes. What was I doing? Where did it go wrong?

I looked over the fields. My fields. They were all dried out, the ground was all brown. They would get all muddy in Autumn. I also needed to check on the vegetables in the garden, I don't think I watered them today. And the radiator, it probably needed oil again. And I probably should check on the horses. One of them might be pregnant. And I still needed to fix the fence.

_Hershel, what are you doing? You're escaping the truth. You can't handle it! _

"I know, I know" I whispered in myself. I needed to face it; I nearly killed a human being today. A boy, that helped my daughter getting back home. A boy, that could have become a good surgeon, if I hadn't shot him. He would get better, but he could never reach his arm out very far. Not that that was absolutely necessary for a surgeon, but it was still a huge handicap.

I heard the backdoor open behind me. I turned around, and saw Beth standing there. I looked at her, and she looked back. For a long time, we both didn't say anything. After a while, Beth looked at the ground. She cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry I insulted you, father." She looked at me, waiting. I understood this was an apology. I stood up, and walked to her.

"I am sorry too, honey" I said. I hold out my hand, and she took it.

"I never want us to argue again" she said. I saw tears blinkering in her eyes.

"Me neither. Come here" I said, and I spread my arms out. She answered my hug. We stood there, for a short time, then she let go of me.

"Would you like to go with me? Ryan and I want to talk to you."

That surprised me. What was it with her and this boy? I nodded, not trusting this situation. I walked after, into the house.

_Andrea_

I was keeping watch that day. A day, when a lot of things got cleared. Ryan was getting better, he made it through the night. Carol told me he already ate something.

"A whole plate!" she said, smiling, as if it was a big thing. "He should be able to get out of bed tomorrow!"

I saw a weird change in the eyes of the sad mother. She talked about Ryan as if he was a toddler that just took his first steps.

"That's…great!" I said, in a way that her friends would react if she told them about her toddler.

I sat in the chair on the camper, with my hat. I felt good. I was finally doing something useful. I was protecting the camp. It felt good to have something else on my mind.

I saw Rick coming from the house, and he walked straight to his wife, kissing her on the cheek. He said something to her, and Lori ran away. Rick then turned to Shane, who just got out of his tent. Shane nodded, and walked towards the house. Rick walked to Dale and T-dog, who were making a small fire, and they put it out and also walked towards the house. I wondered what was so important that he needed to get everybody.

"Andrea! We have a meeting, right now! Yah comin'?"

"Yeah, sure." I climbed down the ladder. I hold on tight, the time when Ryan jumped of the roof of the camper still shocked me every time I thought about it.

I put the hunting rifle back in the bag with the other guns, but kept the hat on. I liked it, it made me feel…I don't know.

I started walking towards the house, and ran into Lori and Carl on my way there.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" I asked the brown-haired woman. She held the hand of her son, and walked slowly. Carl still needed to recover from his surgery, and had to take it slow. At this tempo, the wound would already have become a scar if we reach the house. But I kept it for myself. I really wanted to know what was going to happen.

"It's about Ryan. And Beth. Rick said we all needed to be there." She didn't say anything more. Carl had put a hand on his side, and Lori walked even slower, so he could take his breath. I wasn't going to wait for that. I'm sorry, but I was curious.

I stepped inside the hot house, and everybody was in the living room. Even Daryl was there. Everybody knew this must be very important if he was here too. Daryl wanted to continue his search for Sophia ever since he got out of bed. If this stopped him, it was big.

Ryan sat in a chair, with his left shoulder in a bandage. He smiled and nodded at me as I walked in. What was this?

At his left side, stood Beth. She looked nervous. At the right side stood Hershel. He didn't look at anybody that was in the room, he had shame all around him. Everybody knew he had made a huge mistake by shooting Ryan, but it was clear they had talked it out.

I sat down on the couch next to Dale. He seemed glad to see me. He was always glad to see me. Even though I had been a bitch to him, he still cared about me. He was there for me, when I hated myself for shooting Daryl. He made it sound less worse, and I was grateful for that.

Finally, Lori and Carl got inside. They sat down on kitchen chairs, and everybody got silent.

"So…I guess we're all here then" Ryan started. He looked around the room, and counted every head. "Well, you're probably wondering why I gathered you here. Some of you might already have an idea. I have a few confessions to make, and some things to clear out. I'll start with the first thing; I did not… 'attack', Beth. I was in the woods on my own, and I was never near the truck at the time when it happened."

I saw that Beth felt uncomfortable with this subject, but she kept it for herself. Ryan was telling me something I already knew. It didn't make any sense, he never could've reached the car in time. I knew that, Shane knew that.

"Now you're probably wondering; who did do it? There a big misunderstanding going on here. It's something between Beth and the other person to work it out, so we do not interfere."

All the heads in the room looked around, everybody thinking who might have done it. I looked at Rick, and he had a dark look in his eyes as he stared at the boy, Jimmy. I saw Maggie narrowing her eyes when she looked at Beth.

"Then the next thing; Hershel and I talked it out. Last night, we had a long conversation, and apologies were made, and everything's fine now. Hershel will treat me and help me recover. We forget what happened, and move on."

As he said this, I saw Hershel's cheeks turn red. Red of shame. Ryan grumbled, as he tried to sit straight, but his shoulder hurt.

"Then number three; Patricia has found some articles in my bag, and I'm sure she wants some answers about that too. The articles are about the Atlanta Women-murders, from six months ago. You probably remember the cases."

Ryan made a long silence, and I assumed he was waiting for an answer. Nobody knew what to say, or didn't want to.

"I remember them. A friend of mine worked on that." It was true. A friend of mine was a reporter for a newspaper and followed this case.

"I'll tell you what those murders have to do with me" Ryan continued, with a silent 'thank you' towards me. "I was the main suspect in that case."

Shock. That was all there was. Shocked faces, open mouths. Blinking with the eyes. The only ones that didn't move, where Beth, Hershel and…Daryl?

"It's a really long story, but I'll make it short. I got involved in some nasty business, the dark side of our government. I had a…talent. A talent they wanted to make use of. I was forced to cooperate, I didn't have much of a choice. I got into some bad things, and I did a lot of things I wasn't proud of. I knew what our government was doing. They were creating a weapon. Not a regular weapon, like guns or tanks, no, much worse. An effective weapon, that would destroy the enemy from the inside."

Ryan sighted, and closed his eyes for a minute. I thought he had fallen asleep, but he just rested. I then noticed how exhausted he looked. And there was pain, a lot of pain in his face.

"Our government was doing bad stuff, and I couldn't take it anymore. I destroyed the weapon, and prevented it from ever getting out. At least, I hoped I did."

He opened his eyes, and the next words were cold. "I ran away from it, I hid, lay low for a while. But eventually, they would find me. And kill me, or at least torture me. But there was one thing I wanted to do before I died, and that was telling the world about it. I made a video, where I told about the weapon. But to upload it on the internet, I needed an account. And that account was linked at my e-mail. I was not careful enough, and they had found me. I managed to escape from them, but it was not over yet. They wanted to catch me as fast as they could, and so they came up with something. The police had already caught the killer from the Atlanta Women-murders, but they made me prime suspect in the case, so the people of whole Georgia would hate me, and wouldn't believe anything I said. All my stories about the weapon and the business of the government, would be lies in their eyes.

It's been half a year ago, and a lot happened since then. Somebody recognized me on the street, and I was arrested. I was taken to prison for the rest of my life."

Silence. Ryan sat back in the chair, the pain going as an arrow through his body. He grumbled, but stayed put.

"But yah're here now" Shane suddenly said.

"Yes, I am" Ryan said, and he took a deep breath "the prison I was held, was one of the first places which got overrun, and I was still a fit, healthy person, even after…." He cleared his throat, before continuing. "I trained in my time at the prison, and I managed to escape from it. I ran into a shop, and grabbed everything I thought I needed. All I had taken with me from the prison, were the articles and a book."

Ryan turned towards Patricia, who stood at the dinner table. "I hope I explained the articles?"

"Yes, absolutely" Patricia answered. "And I want to apologize, for sneakin' through yer stuff."

"You had your reasons" he said, with a slight smile.


	17. Chapter 17: More confessions

**Hey guys!**

**Chapter 17, gosh! Ryan thought after he had been shot, the drama in his life would be over. What, is he stupid? Of course there's drama in your life when you're in the Walking Dead! When Glenn tells the big secret of the Greene family, Ryan's shocked. T-dog experiences the other side of the hot-head Shane, and Glenn could kill himself because of all the guilt. Maggie's pissed at him, and he does not know what to do. Jimmy's a loner now, and hates himself for what he's done to the love of his life, he wishes he could make things right. Beth's in love more than ever, and evetything should be fine in her life. Or...**

**Find out this chapter!**

**I just want to thank all the people that are so supportive during this story, you guys are awesome! I really want to continue this story as long as it's being appriciated, so I'm very happy! Please review/follow if you haven't yet! (C'mon, chapter 17? ^-^ )**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking dead, storylines or characters)**

**Enjoy! ;)**

_Chapter 17: More confessions_

_Ryan_

It had been a week since my big 'confession'. I have to say, it felt good to reveal some of my biggest secrets. I still didn't tell them about what the weapon actually was. I didn't think I was ever going to. And I didn't tell them about the…tortures.

I felt as if a knife was put in my shoulder as I tried to sit straight in the chair. It wasn't one from the house, just some camping sort. I gasped and almost dropped my plate from my lap.

"Ey, man, take it easy" T-dog said. He held my plate for me, so I could change my position. "There yah go."

"Thanks" I said as T-dog gave me back my breakfast. I was back in the camp, and slept in a tent from the Greenes. Hershel let me borrow it, so he could sleep in his own bed again.

It was nice to be back in my camp, with my own family. We were silent, all focusing on our food. The only sound, came from Andrea, who was sharpening her knife. I sat next to Daryl, who was recovering pretty good after the arrow in his side. Carl was getting better too.

I felt so happy, even though I could cry of all the pain in my body. It was all good right now. Hershel let us stay a little longer on the farm, because he still needed to help me. Beth had broken up with Jimmy, and had told her father about what happened. Hershel had sent Jimmy to the shed, a few foot from the house. He had to eat, sleep, and basically live there. Hershel was disappointed in him, but he didn't shoot him. I saw Beth almost every evening. We met every time at the back of the house, and walked over the fields, and talked about everything that had happened. Sometimes, we kissed. Beth still was scared of it, so we didn't do it every time. She never spoke with Jimmy after the break up, but I think Jimmy's accepting it. In fact, he had to. Beth was with me now, and she was happier than ever. It was also exciting, because Hershel didn't know. I think he suspected it, but he didn't ask about it.

"Uh, guys." Glenn's voice ripped me out of my own thoughts. He stood uncomfortable, as if he was telling us a secret. "So…"

All heads turned to him, which made him even more insecure. He played with his fingers, and gave a quick look at Dale, before he spit the words out.

"The barn's full of walkers."

_Jimmy_

Corn from a can. That was my breakfast for that day, again. I ate it, sitting on my 'bed', in the shed. It wasn't the best life, but better than getting shot. It could've been me, now I thought about it. I still was ashamed of my actions, and if I had a chance to make it right, I would do that.

Beth had broken up with me. She broke my heart, even though I saw it coming. _Well, what did you expect?! You traumatized her for the rest of her life! Twice!_

"Shut up" I whispered. I put a spoon with corn in my mouth. I thought I was going crazy. I was alone, and had no one to talk to. Nobody wanted to talk. Every time I walked to the mud-pool to check if anyone had walked into it, I had to walk over the fields. And everyone looked at me, every time. They all knew I was the one that…you know.

Even though Ryan never said that it was me, they knew it. Ryan didn't tell them, they already knew. I kept helping Hershel with the farm, 'cause he wasn't going to send me away. When people got stuck in the mud, I helped him with getting them inside the barn.

I threw the can away, and washed my spoon in the water I got from the well. I was a loner now. I didn't belong to the Greenes, or the Atlanta survivors.

_T-dog_

"You cannot tell me yeh're alright with this" Shane said, as he walked past Rick. We stood in front of the barn, filled with walkers.

"I'm not" Rick replied. "But we're guests here, this isn't our land."

Even a fool like me could see Rick was scared. Sweat fell down his chin as he stared at the barn.

"God, this is our lives, man!" Shane was walking around like some hot headed freak, almost shouting.

"Lower your voice, man" Glenn said. He took the words out of my mouth.

"We can't just leave this under the rug" Andrea said.

"It ain't right" I agreed with her. Not remote!"

What the hell was wrong with these farmers? Keepin' walkers in their backyard?!

Shane seemed to calm down, and started making his own plans, out loud. "We gotta go in there, we gotta make things right, or we just gotta go now. We've been talking about Fort Benning for…"

"We can't go" Rick interrupted him.

"Why?!"

"Because my daughter's still out there" Carol suddenly said. Shit, here we go again. Even Shane sighted, a bit annoyed.

"OK, I…I think it's time we start thinking about the other possibilities…."

"Don't you say that, man, that's cruel" Ryan stepped forward, with a dark look in his eyes.

"We're not leaving Sophia behind" Rick agreed. Daryl stepped forward, making a circle with his fingers.

"I'm so close to finding this girl!" O, man he was pissed. "I just found a doll a few days ago!"

That didn't sound so amazing, did it? Apparently Shan thought the same.

"You found a damn doll, man, Yeah, that's what you did, you found a DOLL!" There was so much sarcasm in that sentence, everybody could feel Daryl's muscles contracting. There was a second of silence, than the bomb exploded.

"Yah don' know what tha hell yeh'r talkin' about!" Daryl shouted, as he stepped forward.

"I just say what needs to be said, you know!" Shane replied. Rick felt it coming, and tried to get between the two men. Shane just kept on saying things like this, and I thought he was right.

"Shane, Shane! Stop!" Rick tried to calm his friend down. Daryl wanted to walk to him, but Ryan grabbed his arm. Daryl pulled it back and looked at him. Ryan shook his head.

"Let me tell yah somethin' else, man" Shane shouted. "If she was alive out there, saw yah comin', all messed out with yer but out, geek ears around yer neck, she would've run in the other direction!"

Now it was on. Daryl pushed Rick aside and was gonna punch Shane in the face.

Everybody started yelling as the two men got closer together. Three people were necessary for Shane to calm him down. Daryl got pulled back by Ryan, who was stronger than he looked like. But his shoulder couldn't take it, but he kept pulling. Daryl calmed down, turned around, and was Ryan having pain.

"It's OK, I'm alright" Ryan said, biting his own lips.

"Keep yer hands of me" Shane suddenly said. It was towards Lori, and I immediately saw there was something going on between those two. Shane started walking away.

"Just let me talk to Hershel" Rick shouted after him. "Let me figure it out!"

"And what are yah gonna figure out?!" Shane was like an atombomb now, jeez. Lori jumped in front of him and her husband.

"Enough!"

"We're gonna stay here, this is his land, his barn, I'm gonna talk him into it!" Rick voice got louder and louder towards the end.

"Hershel sees those things in there as people" Dale suddenly said. "Sick people, his wife, his son, his stepson!"

"Yah knew?" Shane took a few dangerous steps forward. Even I was scared of him now.

"Yesterday, I talked to Hershel" Dale replied, as if it was about the weather.

"And yah waited the night!" Shane got closer and closer to the old man.

"I thought we could survive one more night!" As much as I like the old man, I couldn't appreciate this. "And we did. I wanted to wait for this morning, but Glenn wanted to be the one."

Glenn stood uncomfortable as always, and almost jumped in the air when Dale called his name.

"Rick man this is crazy, man, that man is crazy…!"

"Enough!" Rick had this scary demanding tone in his voice that got everybody silent in a few seconds. You couldn't mess with this guy at this point. The only ones that could, were the walkers. And they did, they bumped the doors of the barn to the outside, making us freak out. I started walking back to camp, outta there.

_Glenn_

I sat on the RV, with the rifle between my knees, keeping watch. I felt like crap. I could see Shane walking away, with his arms wide, as if he was twice as fat as he really is. He was pissed, at me, at Dale, at Hershel, even at Rick. All because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

Wait, no. What I've done, is a good thing. I was protecting myself, my friends, my family. That's what I did. Right?

"He, man, can yah give me a hand here?" I got ripped out of my own thoughts by Ryan, who stood I next to the RV, with the guitar in his hand. "Yah ready for yer guitar lessons?"

"What?" I laughed as I reached out my hand. He gave me the guitar first, and then he climbed up the RV himself.

"I promised to learn yah some tricks, didn't I?" He tried to glance, but I could still see the pain in his eyes because of his shoulder. The muscles were pretty damaged, Hershel said the pain would go away after a few months.

"Do you really think now's the time for that?" I offered him my seat, but he looked at it, and sat down on the roof. He didn't like that everybody tried to care for him, so I sat down in the chair myself.

"Well, yeah, we now know what happened to all the walkers in the area, so…you don't have a job right now." He wanted to sound calm, but I could see he was hurt. I didn't know why.

"Don't worry, I gotta tune it first. And that's gonna take a while."

"Lucky me" I said. I liked Ryan a lot, he was besides Maggie the only one around here that was about my age. I think that if this wasn't happening, we could be friends. But he had too many secrets at the time, I still wasn't sure if I could trust him or not.

"What happened to yer cap?" he suddenly asked. He didn't look at me, so he couldn't see me blushing.

"It's dirty. It's…Maggie put a rotten egg in it."

"What?" he kept looking at the guitar, and glanced. "What did yah do, man?"

"Well, I told my friends about their dangerous family secret."

"O, I'm sorry. Wasn't thinking." He played a little melody, and one tone wasn't straight, so he started all over again. "I think what yah did, was pretty brave, by the way."

"You…you do?" I suddenly realized this was my first real conversation with this guy.

"Yeah, I mean….You seem to like Maggie a lot, but you choose your group above her. That's…you have some balls." He looked at me. "I don't think I could do that. I mean….I don't know."

"Well, I guess you're the only one who thinks that. But thanks anyway."

"She'll come around, don't worry." He put down the guitar and pointed at Maggie, who just came walking towards the house with a basket. "If she really cares about you, she'll forgive you."

"But what if she doesn't?" I couldn't sit down anymore. I had to stand, and walk, that always helped me to think. "Look, all I wanted, is for everybody to be safe. Those things are dangerous. I don't want anyone in danger. I care about the group, but I care about her to. I want her to be safe too!"

"Well, maybe you should tell her that." He smiled friendly at me, and I suddenly knew what I had to do. "Tell her what you think, what you thought, the moment you told the group about it."

I stopped walking, and looked at Maggie. I turned to Ryan, and nodded. "Yes, I'm gonna do it."

I walked towards the ladder, and wanted to climb down, but Ryan called me back.

"Glenn, wait!" He bend over and grabbed the hat. "You look ridiculous. Much better. Now, go after your girl!"

"Thanks, man!" I jumped of the last steps. "Maggie! Maggie, wait!"

_Beth_

Dad was gone for a long time now. The people of Atlanta were getting a bit frustrated, and that made me crazy. Glenn and Maggie sat on the stairs of the veranda, enjoying each other. I searched around for Ryan, 'cause I missed him already. I found him by the RV, playing guitar.

"You can actually play?" I asked as I climbed up the ladder.

"Yeah, I played hours when I was in jail." He reached out his hand and pulled on the roof of the RV. He pulled very hard, and made me fall on top of him. Of course he did that on purpose, NOT.

"Oops, sorry" he laughed. I punched him on the chest, and rolled away from him as he tried to kiss me.

"Not here, dummy, they can see us!" I laughed as I sat up.

"You haven't told me about the barn." His voice turned from joking to serious. I didn't know what to say, I thought he was mad at me. But then he smiled. "I'm not angry, just a little disappointed. But then again, I had my secrets too.

"I'm sorry, I…"

"Don't be, Rick's working something out with your dad. It's gonna be fine."

He grabbed the guitar again, and played a little melody.

"Can you sing, Beth?"

"What? No, I mean, a little." I felt my cheeks turn red. "I did some singing classes on school."

"Well, let's sing a little song" he said, and started playing. It wasn't a very happy song, but very beautiful. I knew the lyrics a little, but before the intro ended, Ryan started singing.

My heart jumped into my throat by the beauty of his voice. "No way! You didn't tell me you could sing."

"A little surprise for my Beth" he sang, and smiled. At the chorus, I sang with him. I hadn't sang ever since my mom got sick, and it felt good. Ryan was a good singer too, and we sounded beautiful together.

At the end, I clapped my hands. Ryan put away the guitar, and grabbed my hand. "That was amazing" he said, as he kissed me on my nose.

I wanted to kiss him back, but then I saw his shocked face. He looked at something behind me. I turned around, and saw the Atlanta group running towards the barn, where my dad, Jimmy, and Rick were bringing to walkers in.

**That should be a sweet ending, but it's not...I've watched this episode for like a hundred times, and still cry my eyes out every time. :'( Really excited about next chapter, I'll try to upload it on Thursday!**


	18. Chapter 18: The Barn

**Hello!**

**Chapter 18, and there's a lot going on! Not much talking this chapter, but a lot of thinking and emotions. I found it hard to right this chapter, this episode on the show was already loaded with emotion, and it's hard to find the right words to give you guys that same feeling. I tried my best, I hope it worked out!**

**Not that long of a chapter, but next one is. Saturday will be the last one for this week. I'm going away from Monday till Friday, so I'll post again when I get back!**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own the Walking Dead, storylines or characters of the show)**

**Enjoy;)**

_Chapter 18: The Barn_

_Carl_

Shane ran in front of everybody, and he seemed so angry. He nice man, the best friend of my father, seemed like one of those crazy villains from my comics. He was shouting and yelling and saying all kinds of bad words. It made me scared.

Mom and I tried to run after them, but they were too fast. And half way there, my chest started to hurt.

"Mom, stop!" I shouted. "The wound."

"Of course, baby, I'm sorry" she said, slowing down her pace. We could see Hershel and dad both holding a walker, with what seemed like some kind of dog stick. Shane was shouting, and held out a gun. He shot the walker of Hershel in the chest, and shouted more.

The gunshot scared me a little. It did every time I heard one. You'll probably understand why.

My dad screamed at Shane, asking him to stop. His face got all red, and his mouth was wide open. The only time I ever saw him like this, was when he had an argument with mom, just before he got shot. I went to school, and kept thinking about it. I told myself I would say that dad shouldn't do that anymore, because it was scary and it made mom cry. I was nervous to tell him that, and my stomach hurt when school was out. I saw mom waiting for me, and somehow Shane was there too. I saw the police car. Mom ran up to me, and told me dad was in the hospital.

After that, everything changed, and I never got to tell him that. At the moment we stood in front of the barn, he made me scared again. I held on to mom's hand, if that could protect me.

"It's OK, baby, it's OK" she said to me. "It's gonna be OK."

Shane shouted even more, and he shot again. I closed my eyes at the sound, and when I opened them, the walker fell on the ground. Dead.

"No! Hershel, take it!" my dad shouted, holding out the stick to the old man, that fell on his knees. Shane was screaming at us now. He screamed about the walkers, about how dangerous they were.

"These were the ones that killed Amy!" I heard him saying, and saw Andrea slightly nodding. Daryl stepped forward with a big gun, ready to shoot. T-dog did the same.

Shane slammed on the wooden door of the barn, and stepped back, holding his gun up. Suddenly, Ryan ran past me. He was holding his shoulder, and was in a lot of pain but kept going.

"Shane, stop this madness right now!" he said, standing in front of him. "This is not your call. This is their barn, their decision! You can't make it for them!"

"Man, step back, it's too late now!"

"No, I won't! You gotta stop this man! Right now!"

"I said; step back!" Then Shane did what no one ever thought he would. He pointed the gun on Ryan's forehead, his finger on the trigger.

Ryan slowly put his hands in the air. "OK, OK, I got it."

He made a circle around Shane, stepping behind him, Shane still holding the gun at his forehead. Ryan walked back, towards Beth. At that moment, the doors of the barn opened.

_Ryan_

I was mad this morning. Mad at Beth, for not telling me about it. I told her everything I could tell about myself, but she kept this a secret from me. When I heard Rick saying the Greenes thought they were sick, I understood. I thought that too, at first. Rick also said he was going to work something out with Hershel, and that it would all be OK.

But I knew he was just saying that to calm us, when the barn opened. At first there was nothing, just a dark hole. Then, there were footsteps, slipping on the ground. The first walker came in the sunlight. It was a man, a bald man, and he seemed to be a farmer too. But he wasn't anymore. When he saw us, it seemed like he almost smiled. We were flesh, we were the living, we were his dinner. His pace got faster, and he was coming closer.

Shane was the first to pull the trigger. With one clear shot, the bullet went through it brains, leaving a hole in the forehead. The body fell on the ground, and two more walkers appeared. Now Andrea and T-dog pulled the trigger, and two new corpses fell. Every time they killed one, two new ones appeared. Shane, Andrea and T-dog were shooting, Glenn joined later.

Beth didn't cry. All she did, was look at them. She stood next to me. Her eyes were widened. And with every body that fell on the ground, she said the name of the persons she knew.

"Mister Ropes, Kelly, Miss Haley, John, Ken, Lauren…"

My shoulder hurt, but I ignored it. It wasn't important now. I pulled Beth to me, holding her close. I rested my chin on her head. There was nothing I could do for her to make this easier.

Suddenly, she stopped saying names. I looked at the walkers, and saw a guy about my age collapse to the ground.

"No…" she whispered. She yelled as if she was in pain, when a women in a pink dress got shot. She tried to pull my hands of her, kicking and hitting.

"No, no no!" Now she started crying. My shoulder hurt like never before, but I didn't want to think about it. Beth needed me. I pulled her back with all the strength I had, pushing her against my chest.

The walkers kept coming, and the shooting hurt my ears. Beth didn't resist, she just kept crying and staring at the barn. I held her face in my hands, trying to get her attention.

"Beth, look at me!" She didn't hear me, she kept saying words I didn't understand.

"Beth, at me!" My hands got wet of her tears as she turned towards me. "It's better this way. I promise. You probably don't think like that right now, but I know it is."

I hold her against my chest, and she cried in it, hiding. She always did that, it made her feel safe. My shirt got wet of the tears as she cried, with the symphony of bullets surrounding us. It seemed like hours before the last one was out. The shooting stopped, and there was a field of dead walkers in front of the barn.

I held Beth close to me, almost carrying her. It seemed as if her legs stopped working, she fell on the ground. I couldn't do it, my shoulder was already bleeding again. Beth kept crying, looking at the two bodies she must've known very good.

It was silent on the field, everybody listened to the cries of her. There was complete silent. Everybody was in their own thoughts about what just happened. There was guilt, relieve, anger, happiness, proud, and sadness. All these emotions formed some kind of aura over these people. In this complete silence, you could hear one other sound.

Small footsteps. Slipping on the ground. Guns were held up, ready to shoot another time. We waited for more walkers to appear from the barn. Beth stopped crying. Only the footsteps. I could see a shadow in the dark hole of the barn. A large shadow. But when it got closer to the opening, it got smaller. Smaller and smaller, until it stepped into the light.

Complete shock. That was all there was. The aura of emotions contained only one. All the people shared the disbelieve, frustration, shock, from the moment the little girl stepped out. First there was a small, rotten hand, which she put over her eyes, as if the light was hurting her. She stood still, looked at us. Saw us. Still complete silent. There was recognition in the people of Atlanta, the family, the friends, the group.

The scream of the mother ripped the silent aura apart. It was a high, devastated scream. Loaded with emotion. The girl held up her head, as if she heard it, from somewhere far away. She started walking.

Taking small steps. She tripped over all the corpses on the ground, but kept on walking. The mother wanted to ran to her daughter, but got pulled away by a man. She shouted the child's name, but there was no reaction. The girl kept coming forward, paying no attention. It was then ,when the mother knew, this was not her daughter. Not anymore. It wasn't the shy, sweet girl, that used to cut the hair of her dolls and paint her own nails with markers. No. This was the monster that wanted to feed. The undead body, that walked around.

Sophia grumbled, smelling the air of human flesh. She got closer and closer towards it. The mother cried as a man stepped forward. The mother knew what would happen, but still it was unbelievable. The man put up his revolver, aiming for the head. The man carried a great guilt with him. This was all his fault. All his fault. The undead girl was his fault. He had his finger on the trigger, his hands shaking. The voice of the mother in the background crushed his heart. The girl got closer and closer.

Rick stopped thinking, and pulled just pulled the trigger.

The small body fell on the ground, and the mother cried even louder.

_Beth_

I pushed him away from me. I didn't want him, I didn't want to be with him right now. I had to go to her, see her, maybe she was still OK.

I pushed myself of the ground, wiping the tears out of my face. I couldn't see very good, but the corpses were very clear.

Tripping over everything, I looked for her. I tried to ignore the smell that surrounded the place. Under another body, I could see the pink of her dress. I pushed the body away, and there she was. She lay with her face on the ground, away from me.

"No, please" I whispered. I shook her shoulder back and forth. "Mom, mom!"

At first she didn't move, but then, she grabbed my hand. I thought she was OK, but then I saw her eyes. The green, soft eyes I used to know so well, were now cloudy and full of madness. They were wide open. Her skin was rotten, and her jaws clapped up and down, up and down. She pulled her towards me, and then I knew, this wasn't my mom.

I screamed for help, and tried to get away from her. She grumbled, and pulled me towards her. Someone kicked her of me, and I lay in Maggie's arms. I looked at my mother, that was fighting against all the strong arms that were holding her, looking at me. I was nothing more than something to eat. My loving mother was gone.

She slipped out of Shane's hands, and she tried to get to me. Before she was with me, a bullet flew through her head.

I looked up, and saw Ryan, one foot away. He came walking towards me, holding a gun in his hand. He shoot another two times. It was like my world had stopped spinning. Ryan held the gun in his right hand, his left was full of blood from his shoulder. His eyes were cold, his face was a mask. He made me scared. I never saw him like this. This wasn't the guy that joked around, played guitar and sang a song with me. He wasn't the one that told me he loved me. I saw the man behind that.

He had told me he had done things he wasn't proud of, but I never thought about killing. But at that moment, when he pulled the trigger those three times, I saw what he was capable of.


	19. Chapter 19: Shock

**Hello dear people!**

**As promised, chapter 19! And holy moly, there's a lot going on! It's a long, but exciting chapter, a lot of emotions(yay! That's what we want after all that happened last chapter -_-) and explainations. Review/ follow if you like!**

**As I said before, I'm going away from Monday till Friday, so not so much Ryan for you guys next week :'(**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead, storylines of characters)**

**Enjoy! ;)**

_Chapter 19: Shock_

_Beth_

Why didn't it go away? I rubbed with the sponge over the plate over and over again. The dirty spot wouldn't go away. My arm was starting to hurt, but I kept going. If I stopped doing the dishes, I would start thinking again.

Thinking about…NO. I grabbed some forks, and put them in the water. It needed to be clean. All had to be clean.

I could hear my sister talk to her new boyfriend, Glenn. I grabbed even more forks, 'cause I didn't want to hear what they were saying. I concentrated on the dishes, nothing else. Otherwise….NO.

I put the forks down and grabbed the tea-cups. Those were always dirty. Dirty enough to keep me busy. I put some more soap on the brown at the bottom of the cups, and robbed over it with the sponge.

My arms were hurting, the muscles burned, but I couldn't stop. I had to keep going. I looked up for a second, and saw the barn. NO. Don't. I focused on the cups. They were dirty. They needed to be clean. I had to make it clean. Make them glance. Focus on that. Not the…

I had one cup to go. I reached out my arm and grabbed it, ignoring the blue spots in front of my eyes. My knees were shaking. I put the cup in the water. More soap. The sponge, grab the sponge. I turned the cup in my hands, and suddenly, I felt like a snowman. I got cold over my whole body. I looked at the cup, and read the letters on the side.

'For the best mom in the mom in the world.'

Everything turned black.

_Ryan_

"Ryan! Ryaaaan!" Maggie's voice dragged me away from my tent. I wasn't wearing a shirt, I was busy fixing my bandage. My shoulder was completely ruined, if it wasn't like that already. I was too scared to ask Hershel for help. He had too much on him already.

I opened the tent with my right arm, keeping my mouth shut against the pain. I quickly grabbed a shirt as I stepped outside.

"Maggie? What's wrong?"

Her eyes widened shocked, as she saw me not wearing a shirt, but quickly recovered. "It's Beth. She collapsed."

"What?" The pain in my shoulder disappeared immediately, and I pulled the shirt over my head. "Where is she?"

"In the house."

That was all I needed to know. I started running, as fast as I could. I should've been there. I should've talked to her. Explained to her, why the thing we did was right. I thought she needed space, to think. I let Maggie and her father take her inside, after what happened at the barn. I thought that what I did was the right thing.

I pulled the door open, and ran inside. I found Beth, laying in the bed, her eyes wide open, staring into nothing. I ignored my crushing heart, I couldn't handle seeing her like this. But I had to. _Man up, dude._ I blinked a few times, and turned the switch, like I always saw Hershel doing. Doctor-mode, Beth called it.

"When did this happen?" I asked Glenn, who stood in the corner of the room.

"About twenty minutes ago."

"Twenty minutes?!" I lifted my eyebrows.

"We searched for Hershel first, but we can't find him anywhere."

I walked to the bed, and kneeled down. I put my hand on her forehead. "Can you get me some water?"

"Yeah. Sure." Glenn sprinted out the room. Maggie kneeled down next to me.

"What's happening to her?"

"Traumatic shock" I answered. I put my finger under her cheek, checking her heart-rate. "She's in some kind of coma. Her body temperature's going up. The only think we can do, is get her out of the shock, before her body's shutting down."

Maggie got pale, but cleared her throated and blinked a few times. "How do we do that?"

"Have you talked to her, before she collapsed?"

"Yes, she was…" Maggie took a deep breath, and couldn't help the tears. "She was devastated, confused. She didn't understand…and you…"

"Crap." I already knew I had something to do with this. It was my fault, for a big part. "I'm not the person who could talk to her. Did you try?"

"Yes, I asked her to come back, stay calm, everything!" Maggie grabbed the hand of her sister, sniffing her nose.

"Then she needs Hershel" a voice said. I looked up, and saw Jimmy standing in the doorway. I ignored the slight hate in my heart, and bit my tongue. I saw Maggie having the same dilemma.

"Yes, that is correct" I just said. "Do you have any idea where he could be?"

"I can look for him, with some other guys" he answered.

"Go search through his stuff, look for anything that could tell you where he's at."

"You got it" he nodded, and walked away. Maggie looked at me.

"You know?" she asked, wiping her tears of her cheeks.

"Yes, she told me" I answered. I knew what this was about. Maggie nodded, and stood up.

"I'll go get the others, maybe we find something."

"OK." I wait for her to close the door outside, before I burst out crying.

_Glenn_

I walked out the house, with the shotgun in my arms. Rick was already waiting for me at the car. Why did I volunteer? I hated myself for that. I always wanted to help, and risked my stupid life for everyone. No wonder Maggie was mad at me. I'm like one of the guys on TV, Jackass.

I walked of the veranda, and suddenly felt a hand grabbing my arm. I turned around. Maggie smiled at me.

"Thank you for doing this" she said.

"Uh, no problem" I replied. God, why was I so awkward? Maggie glanced at me, putting her hand in mine.

"Be careful, OK? Comeback in one piece."

"I will, don't worry." I gave her a slight squeeze in her hand, and suddenly, she bent over and kissed me. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was full of…..everything. I don't know what it was, there was…so much.

When she let go of me, she held my head in her hands. She looked me in the eyes, and said:

"I love you."

I was shocked, scared. I just stood there, like a jerk. Was I supposed to say anything? Was she joking with me? No, I saw it in her eyes. It was real. It was all real. I was confused. So confused. Where did I put the manual of understanding girls?

I said nothing, and turned around. I started walking towards the car, and looked up one more time. Maggie smiled at me, and waved. I smiled, and waved back, almost tripping over my own feet.

"You ready?" Rick asked me. I almost jumped up, I was so into my own thoughts.

"Yeah, sure." I got in the car, at the passenger's seat, holding the shotgun like it was a child. I was such an idiot.

_Jimmy_

I looked at the car driving off the lawn, and felt the pain in my heart. Maggie had found peace with these people, she had found love. I didn't. These people were the reason Beth was now dying.

I walked away from the window. Wait, I was wrong. Of course I was, Jimmy was never right. The people in the barn weren't people, they were monsters. The sickness had made them turn in something else. My parents were dead for a long time, the monsters were still alive at the moment the barn opened.

I had my doubts about Hershel's theory, that there was going to be a cure. But he was the boss of this farm, this lands, the barn. I had nothing to say. I just went along, and kept it to myself. Now, Hershel himself knew. He knew there was no cure for this. That this wasn't just a plague. It wasn't going away. Not now, maybe never.

Hershel was hiding in the bar in town, if you believe the whiskey-bottle in his drawer. Rick and Glenn went after him, and were going to bring him back. At least, they wanted to. They had to. Beth was in shock, and Hershel was the only person that could get her out of it.

I walked to the room where she lay. The door was closed, I couldn't hear anyone in there, so I walked in. I saw Ryan, sitting on a chair, his eyes red. Did he cry?

One look of him at me, and I wasn't going to ask it anymore. Ryan quickly turned to Beth, holding her hand.

"Did they go?" he asked, his voice sounding lower than normal.

"Yeah, they went to the bar" I said, as I sat down on the windowsill. Ryan nodded, and we both got silent. The two of us were trapped in our own minds, in the same room. I was scared of what was coming next, because I didn't know. I didn't know what to expect from this strong man, who was mentally not stable, but had the power to kill me with one hand. I had done things to his girlfriend, my ex, and we still had a lot to argue about.

Ryan wasn't saying anything, so I guessed I had to be the one to break it.

"Look, man, I'm sorry about…everything" I started. Ryan didn't look at me, he just listened.

"I was really selfish, and claimed Beth like she was a thing, not a human being. I'm sorry for the fight, the other day. It was really childish of me…"

Still no reaction. I took a deep breath. Did I had more apologies to make?

"And there's one more thing I want to get straight. I never intended to…"

"I know." He kept looking at Beth, and at first I thought I imagined him saying something, but he really did. "You wanted to…do it, but she didn't think about it the same way."

I was stunned. How did he know…?

"I'm smarter than I look like" he answered my thoughts. "I know people, I know guys like you."

"I….I…" He stopped me by holding his hand up. He turned his head towards me, and his red eyes scared me.

"Apologies accepted. The last one is for Beth, by the way. You should tell her that when she wakes up."

…_If she wakes up…_The words were not spoken, but you could feel them in the air. We both feared the same. I still loved Beth, I still cared about her. Yes, I was angry with her, but I didn't want her to become like this. It hurt me to see her like this.

Suddenly, Ryan stood up. He wiped his hands over his eyes, and sighted.

"I need to get outside" he said "the air in here is killing me. I got a little…claustrophobia. Would you mind keeping an eye on her?"

"No, no, of course not!" I was surprised he could leave me alone with her in one room.

"If there's something wrong, I'm just outside the house" he said walking to the door. "Yell if there's any trouble."

With that, he walked out the house.

_Lori_

I saw Ryan walk out the house. He looked…terrible. His shoulders hang, and his feet slipped over the ground, like he couldn't walk anymore. His whole body was sweaty, and his eyes were red.

I told Carl to stay with Dale, and walked towards Ryan.

He sat down on the ground, and coughed loudly. It didn't sound good.

"Are you OK?" I asked, worried. I kneeled down next to him, wiping his hair out of his eyes.

"I'm fine, I just need some air…" he coughed again. He put his hand over his mouth, and said something I couldn't understand.

"What?"

"I need to…" he coughed again, but this time, a little blood dripped through his fingers.

"O my god…" I put my hand on his forehead. "Ryan, you're burning up!"

"No, I'm fine, I just…" he wiped the blood out of the corner of his mouth. I suddenly had a flashback of Jim, the man that got bit the last night we camped in the woods, just outside of the city.

"Are you bit?" I just had to ask. If he was, we had a serious problem.

"No, I'm not, I just…" More blood came out, more than before. He threw up, coughing between the waves. I pulled his shoulders a bit back, so he could sit straight, but he pushed me away.

"Just…let me…" One more pool of blood spit out, before he fell on his back in the grass.

"Ryan, Ryan!" I shook his shoulders, ignoring the smell of the blood. Ryan opened his eyes. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Instead, he pointed with his fingers to the pool of blood he just spit out.

"What? What are you saying?" I didn't understand. He kept telling me something, but he was not clear about it. He tried to sit up, and I helped him. He bent over the pool of blood, searching with his fingers through the grass.

"O god…" I put my hand over my mouth, preventing ME from throwing up. If you're pregnant, the littlest things can make you vomit. Ryan was looking for something, but I didn't know what. I turned away from the horrible scene, but kept staying with him.

"Lori…" he whispered. I cleared my throat, and took a deep breath before I looked back at him. He held something in his fingers, a little bottle.

"What's that?" I asked. In the bottle, there was a grey liquid, it looked like some kind of soda, but really gross.

"The cure" he whispered.

_Jimmy_

I sat on the chair where Ryan just walked away from. I looked at Beth, or what used to be her. Her eyes were not the shiny green ones, I always laughed about. No, these were like dead grass in the winter, they lost their shine. Her pink lips were grey now, as if she was cold, but instead she was burning up. Her skin was pale like the sheets she was laying on. The only thing that told you this was Beth Greene, was her funny nose.

I laughed at a memory that came up. We were in high school, and it was really hot that day. Beth didn't put sun-cream on her nose, and it was red like a tomato. I laughed at her for weeks, she looked so cute with it. She was mad at me at first, but she laughed with me later on. Beth never was upset for long. She always saw the bright side of it.

But now this happy girl lay here, in a coma. And nobody could say if she was going to wake up, ever.

Maggie had told me that Hershel was the only one that could get her out of the shock, by talking to her. He was the only one that knew what to say to her.

I wanted to say a million things to her, I wanted to apologize, tell her I still cared about her, she meant a lot to me.

I suddenly got an idea. I cleared my throat.

"Beth, I don't know if you can hear me right now, but I just…wanted to say something. To you."

That wasn't such a bad start. Better than our first date.

"I want to apologize, for, uh, touching you. I never intended to hurt you, I just….We've talked about it for so long. I thought you wanted it too. I know the truck wasn't the ideal place, but there were people everywhere, and at that moment, we were alone for some time. I thought it was the right time. And now I know, I was wrong."

I looked at her hands, they still had some scratches of the forest she ran into when I scared her off.

"I'm so sorry. I will never do something like that ever again, not to you, not to anyone, until that person is ready. I'm sorry."

I exhaled, and felt a lot better. It was good to have that of my chest. I still had no response, but I had the feeling she could understand what I was telling her. I put her hand in mine, rubbing with my thumb over her fingers.

"I want you to know, Beth, I still care about you. I still love you, after all that happened."

I put a slight kiss on her hand. It was cold as ice, but still full of life.

"Please, come back soon. Maggie needs you, more than ever, and Patricia, and….Ryan."

The last name still felt a little weird to say, like that. I sat back in the chair, and let go of her hand. I felt a lot better about myself. I hated myself a little less.

From the corner of my eye, I saw someone standing in the doorway. I looked up, and saw Maggie. Her face was hard to read, there was no expression. But I noticed the hate that was in her eyes every time she looked at me, was gone. She had her arms over her stomach, as she walked into the bedroom. She stood still at the drawers, and still looked at me.

"Thank you" she said, and she really meant it. "Thank you for apologizing. I think it really helps her."

There was no sarcasm in that sentence, and I was happy about that. Maggie had a hard time dealing with me still around the house after what happened between me and her sister. But now, it was good.

"I hope so."

_Daryl_

I looked at the brown-haired bitch walking away. What was she thinking? She was calling ME selfish, the guy that almost got himself killed for a girl he barely knew.

I grabbed my knife again, and started sharpening the arrows again. I was so done with these people. They just keep commanding me, keep giving me orders. And when I do them a favour, they show no gratitude.

Stupid city-people. I was so done. I was even done with myself. I just kept looking for this ghost in the woods, while she was right under my nose the whole fucking time. I got myself an arrow to the side, for nothing.

_That's what you get for listenin' to cowboys, lil' bro!_

"Shut up" I whisper.

_I told yah so; shoot your pal Rick in tha face! _

"I said; shut up!" The branch breaks between my fingers. Shit, now I have to start all over again.

_What's with the anger? Yah pissed because yeh'r a failure?_

"You don' know what yeh'r talkin' 'bout."

_C'mon, Darlene, I knew all along yah were gonna end like this; shit!_

I grabbed another branch, and started to sharpening it again.

_Ah, now yeh'r gonna ignore yer brother? Very mature!_

"Shut up! Yeh'r not even here!"

_That's right, yeh're talking to yerself. I told yah you were gonna end like this!_

I stood up, throwing the knife into the tree the most fare away from me. The end of the blade sticks in the wood.

"Fuck you" I whispered. Finally, Merle's voice was out of my head. He was there, ever since that day I fell of the cliff. But now, it was finally silent in my head. I could think again. Think without him giving his opinion about every decision I made.

I sat down, and leaned with my back against the pile of stones. I had moved my camp to here, far away from the others. They were so busy with the farmer's daughter, and the farmer himself. What was it with this place that everybody wanted to get away from it? First the little girl, then the farmer's daughter, now the old man himself. The place must be cursed or something.

I saw a shadow from the corner of my eye. I looked up, and saw the young guy, Ryan walking up to me. He was full of blood, and looked ridiculous, but looked so serious I got scared of it. Almost.


	20. Chapter 20: Gone

**Hello!**

**I am BACK! Finally, chapter 20 is here! A lot going on, and a lot coming! More drama, emotions, mystery and adventure! It's not a big one, I had to write it pretty quick, but it will do! Review/ follow if you like!**

**Some news; I will be going to school pretty soon, so I won't be able to upload as much as I did this whole summer, maybe one or two times a week... :'(**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead, storylines or characters)**

**Enjoy ;)**

_Chapter__ 20:_

_Lori_

"Look, this is it!" Ryan held the bottle in front of me. The smell of blood moved into my nose, and made my stomach turn around. I softly pushed his hand away, swallowing the vomit away. I lay my hand on his forehead.

"Just what I thought" I whispered more to myself than him. "Ryan, you're burning up. I gotta take you to bed, you need to rest."

"No, I'm fine! I just need.." He tried to get up, but fell on his knees again. I grabbed his right shoulder to keep him up.

"Just let me help you, OK? You can work on the….cure after you rested." Ryan was obviously so far away in the fever he didn't know what he was doing. I lifted him, and he leaned on me. With small steps we walked to the camp. I tried to ignore the bloody mess on his shirt, face and hands. He talked nonsense to himself, I couldn't understand. Something about "O" and "conditions", things I didn't understand.

I lay him in his tent, made him drink some water, and left. There was nothing I could do.

I started walking back to the house. Maggie walked up to me.

"What was that?" she asked, her eyes widened.

"Ryan's a little sick. It's just a small fever." That didn't calm her down, but she didn't ask more.

"Beth's getting worse. They've been gone for two hours now, they should be back."

Panic was all over the simple farmer's daughter. She walked in circles, biting her nails. She had been so calm since Beth collapsed, but now she wasn't. I realized she had kept it in for too long, and now she had to release it. I grabbed her hand and made her stop walking. It made me nervous too.

"Maggie, look at me." She turned her head. "You have to stay strong, you hear me? Rick and Glenn will be back, with your dad. I promise, Rick promised, they promised. I know you think you can't do anything to help your sister, but there is. All you gotta do, is hoping. You have to keep your head up."

I rubbed her shoulders softly. "Now, take a deep breath, inhale up. Exhale out."

She did as I said, and shook a little less under my hands. She glanced a little, and wiped her eyes.

"Good girl" I said, smiling. "Now, let's check on your sister, OK?"

Together, we went inside.

_Ryan_

I waited for them to walk inside the house. When I was sure they couldn't see me anymore, I sat up. I bit on my lip when an arrow of pain went through my shoulder. I still tasted the blood from earlier. I spit in the grass, and wiped the red from the corners of my mouth.

I tried not to scream as I pulled the t-shirt over my head. Crap, it was the second t-shirt full of blood from that day. Carol wouldn't be happy. She was still trying to get the blood from the t-shirt I wore when I got shot. Then I remembered I better get rid of these two, I wasn't going to need them.

I needed to take as less as possible. I quickly washed the blood of my body and got in a new shirt, one out of the three clean ones. Three should be enough.

I grabbed some more stuff I thought would come in handy, when I suddenly heard footsteps. I quickly jumped under the blankets, cursing myself because I forgot about my shoulder, and pretended to sleep.

I heard the canvas of the tent move a little, and saw a shadow bending over me. The person stood there for a few seconds. I tried to keep my breath as normal as possible, while my heart beat in my ears. Finally, the shadow left. I lay there and counted till sixty, before I got up to check on my mystery guest.

I saw Lori walking away from the camp, towards something. Or someone. I narrowed my eyes, and saw Daryl sitting almost at the end of the field, with a knife in his hands.

I got back in the tent and grabbed more stuff and put it in my backpack. At last, I held the bottle in my hand. I looked at the grey liquid, and wrapped my fingers around it. This was it. This was the end of everything. This had all the answers, it was all I needed.

Everything was my fault, and now I had the chance to make it right. I had to leave, find a place to continue my research. I had to make it right. I had to save everyone, including my dear Beth. It was my fault for a big part that she was in a traumatic shock. It wasn't my intention.

At the time I discovered it, I had no idea where I was myself and the rest of the world getting into.

I searched through my stuff, when I finally found what I was looking for. A tiny wire. I could make a necklace from it. I put it around the bottle, and hung it around my neck. I hid the bottle in my t-shirt. I had to keep it as close as possible. It was my only chance.

I looked at the place I saw Lori walk to. She was walking back now, and Daryl continued to do what he was doing. And I suddenly had an idea.

_Daryl_

"What do yah want?" I asked , letting him know I was not in to a conversation with a monkey.

"Before you say anything else; I was never here." He held up his hands as he walked closer, as if I pointed a gun in his face.

"Don' play games with me, kid." I stood up, and walked towards the tree. I pulled out the knife, and stood still of a moment. Ryan lifted his eyebrows at me, but I ignored it. I just listened if I heard him, but he wasn't there. He was gone. Finally.

"So, Daryl, I wanted to ask yah somethin'" he continued.

"Not you too. I'm not doin' anythang for anyone, anymore!"

I saw he surprised about my sudden reaction, but I shook the guilt of me. I was done, done with everyone.

"Look, I'm not askin' you to go after the others, like Lori, but…"

"I thought I was pretty clear!" Didn't he understand that? I just said I was done! "I'm not helping anyone."

"It's very simple" he just continued, ignoring me. That only made me more angry. I sat down, my knuckles white. "What bloodtype are you?"

"I'm not…what?" I knew he was weird but this was just….

"You're O-, right? Can I take some?"

"What tha hell, man?!" I was almost shouting. "I'm not doin'that!

"I'll be very careful, I just need…"

"I said no, you stupid monkey!" I stood up. I was pissed now.

"Dude, calm down."

"Don' tell me to calm down!" I stepped towards him. "Just 'cause yer in the group, don't mean I'm yer nanny!"

"Of course not! I was just…."

"Just this, just that! Quit the play! I know yer not what yah say you are!"

I saw his face got whit all the sudden. I got him at the spot that was very painful.

"Mah brother was in tha army. He know's everythang about that 'weapon' of yers!"

He stepped back. "Daryl, I…"

"Yah better get out of here quick, before they find out!" His face was close to mine now, and I was spitting the words in his face. "What did yah think? That findin' a dead girl was makin' it all good? Man, you were never a part of this. You'll never be! You don' belong here!"

Ryan's eyes got dark, and his face got a grey shadow. I kept standing in front of him, readying myself for a hit. But he didn't. He cleared his throat, and looked me in the eyes.

"I know" he said, his voice too calm to be real. "I know I don't belong here. I know I screwed up. I know it is all my fault, and I know I have to leave. But dear nanny, I'm not the only one. You're doing not so fine too. You forget to listen. What I asked you, was a big favour from me to you, but you didn't listen."

I didn't hear a word of it, all I saw was his mouth moving and his lips forming words. I didn't understand any of that, till after. He turned away from me, and walked away. After a few steps, he turned around. His face got darker.

"You say I don't belong here, but you don't do so good either."

After that, he was gone.

_Shane_

Could this get any worse? First Hershel was gone, then Rick and Glenn took off, then we discovered Ryan had packed his stuff and left, and now Lori was missing too.

Poor Carl sat with the old man in the RV, making a puzzle. I looked at the two, and rubbed over the back of my bald head.

By accident, my finger went over the hairless spot. The hair was pulled out from the root, and it was an ugly thing. I had a small flashback of that one night, but Andrea interrupted my thoughts.

"We can't find him anywhere" she said. "He probably took off this afternoon, I bet he went into the forest."

"Well, I don' know about you, but I'm not goin to look for anybody else in those damn woods."

"You're right. It's obvious he just went away, not got lost or anything."

She leaned against a tree and sighted. "Why would he do that? Just…disappear, without letting us know?"

"He probably had somethin' to hide." I didn't trust the kid from day one. His whole story about the government and the weapon….I bet there was more.

"More than we already know? I doubt that."

"I bet it had somethin' to do with that weapon."

Andrea got silent. She thought about what I said, and I saw the change in her face when the unthinkable came to her mind.

"You think…"

"I don' think it, I know it."

T-dog ran up to us, taking his breath before he started talking. "None of the cars are gone. And all the food's still there. If he took off, he did it politely."

"Taking off ain't good at all" I said as I stood up. "I'm not wasting any more time about that runaway. Lori's still gone, I gotta go after her."

"No, Shane!" Andrea's voice had more than just worries about Lori. "It's too dark, you'll never…"

Before she could say more, I slammed the door of the car.

_Hershel_

We finally drove up my beloved lawn. It was silent in the car, but I could hear Glenn getting nervous as we got closer to the house. Rick showed no emotion, his face was too tired for that. The poor man had stayed up all night, shot two living people, saved another, fought against walkers, and more. Walkers. It was a strange word. The passed night, I had used it for the first time as the way it's supposed to be. I had even killed a few, with my drunk eyes.

The alcohol was working out pretty good during the night. I was pretty clear, and was making myself ready to operate. I didn't remember having such a busy job. I had fixed three people in the past two weeks, and a fourth was on its way.

Rick stopped the car and stepped out. Immediately, everyone got out of the house. Maggie ran towards me, and I spread my arms to hug her. But she ran passed me, and hugged Glenn.

I lifted my eyebrows, and walked to Patricia.

"What happened?" I heard Rick asking his wife.

"I was in a little accident" she answered.

"Accident? How?"

I looked at Lori, and saw her face had a few bruises. Shane, the bald man, walked up to them.

"Rick, we got a lil' problem here."

"What is it?" Rick was tired, but totally awake as he heard the word 'problem.'

"Ryan's gone" Shane said.

**WHAAAAAAT? NO! This is not the end! Chapter 21 will be uploaded on Tuesday, so stay tuned!**

**XOXO LaurenRoover**


	21. Chapter 21: Indiana, Johnny and Sherlock

**Hello!**

**So, chapter 21. Drama, mystery, and action! Jimmy cares about Beth, and wants to do anything to see her happy again. Carl thinks Ryan didn't just left, and wants to find out what really happened. Ryan is on the run, but for who?**

**Review/follow, do what you like! ^-^**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead)**

**Enjoy! ;)**

_Chapter 21:_

_Jimmy_

I stood up from the couch as the door of the bedroom opened. Hershel closed the door behind him, and turned around. He saw me, stood still for a second. It was awkward, and I was happy when he turned away from me to walk towards the kitchen.

"How is she?" I asked him when I walked after him.

"She's better now" he answered, with a tone that told me he wasn't fond of talking to me. But I ignored it, I had to know some stuff. "I gave her some medicine that slows her body down, it's been working too hard for the past days."

He washed his hands with some soap. I leaned against the fridge, smiling in myself.

"That's…good to hear" I said. Hershel turned around to me as he heard the relieve in my voice. He dried his hands with a towel as he kept looking at me. It seemed to take ages before he finally said something.

"Maggie told me, what you did for Beth" he said, still with the same dislike in his voice. "I am grateful for that, but I still don't want you inside my house. It doesn't change what you did. Don't you forget that."

"I know, sir" I quickly replied. Hershel had that cold look old man can give you, witch you can't say anything against.

"Good." He put the towel away, and walked out of the kitchen, but I stopped him. There was one more thing.

"Hershel, I need to tell you something." He turned around, annoyed.

"What is it?"

"It's about Ryan." His eyebrows lifted in disbelieve, but he walked back inside and leaned against the wall.

"What's the matter with him?"

"Well, he left, without letting anybody know." I sighted. I was about to tell someone else's secret, and I suddenly realized again why I was hated by so many people. "He was in love with Beth. He loved her, and she loved him."

Hershel's eyes widened a little, but there was no anger in it. "I had my suspicious. But what's your point?"

"We need to get him back. For Beth. Beth…..she needs him. She's going to be depressed when she wakes up and he's not here."

"What do you want me to do?" he said, finally serious about this. "I can't leave. I have to keep an eye on her. It could always turn the other way. And Rick and Shane are too busy with that boy we saved a couple of nights ago, at the bar. They already said they were not going to look for him."

"I can go." As much as I disliked Ryan, I cared about Beth, and she was what mattered to me. "I can find him. I know I can. And I'm sure there are more people who want to help me."

Hershel lifted his eyebrows again, with a look that said 'do you really think that?', but he nodded. "Alright. But why are you telling me this? Do you need permission from me?"

"Well, I need to tell somebody what I'm up to" I answered. "It would be weird if a person in my position just left without saying anything."

"Yes, you're right" Hershel said, with a slight smile. I nodded, before I walked out the kitchen.

_Carl_

Yes! Yes, yes, yes! So there was still somebody who cared about Ryan! I wanted to jump in the air, but I didn't. I had to stay calm and cool, not act like a little kid. Otherwise he would never let me come with him.

I changed my position on the bench I sat on. I needed to look mature, and cool. I put the my dad's hat a little forward, so my face had a little shadow. I once saw that in a movie, and that man looked awesome. I put my shirt out of my pants, mom always put it in. But it shouldn't look like my mom helped me put on my own clothes. I wasn't a baby. Yes, my mom helped me with my clothes, but she only did that because I couldn't do that because of the wound under my chest. Wow, maybe that made me even more badass! I was shot once, a cool hat and I put my own clothes on! OK, maybe the last thing doesn't sound so cool.

I waited for Jimmy to come out of the house. When he did, he held a shotgun in his hands and had a hat on his head too. He was clearly leaving soon.

I couldn't help myself than to jump up.

"I want to come with you" I said. Jimmy turned around, surprised. He laughed, but shook his head.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now. Your mom is going to kill me if she sees me leaving with you. And above that, it's dangerous."

"It's dangerous everywhere!" I kinda forgot Jimmy hadn't seen it all happen. "C'mon I want to help! I know how to use a gun!"

"I can't give you a gun! And I don't want to be a babysitter! I have to find Ryan." He turned around, and he considered this conversation over. But I didn't.

"I can handle myself! I don't need a babysitter. I'm on my own all the time, all the others are too busy arguing."

He stopped walking, and listened. I finally had his attention, so I continued to talk.

"My mom's pregnant, and is busy with taking care of Beth. My dad keeps arguing with Shane, they don't know what to do with Randall. I don't want to talk to Andrea, and I'm sick of Dale's puzzles. T-dog is keeping watch at Randall all the time, and I'm not allowed to go there. Glenn is with Maggie all the time, and Carol only cries about Sophia. Daryl has out his camp somewhere else and doesn't talk to anyone."

Jimmy laughed. "So you wanna come with me 'cause you're bored? Listen, this isn't some schooltrip!"

"I know that. Just…Look. My mom, dad, and the others and me, we're not just a group travelling together." I think I was about to cry, but I wasn't a kid anymore. Don't cry. "We're a family. And Ryan is a part of that family. He just left, without letting anybody know why. He didn't take a car, or food. He didn't left a note or something. That doesn't sound like Ryan. Not at all. He would never leave us behind, especially not with all these troubles. I don't think he just took off. I think something happened."

I tried to tell my dad this a hundred times, but he just wouldn't listen. Shane just pats me on my head as I try to talk to him, and my mom didn't even listen at all, she just said 'that's nice, sweety.'

Now I told Jimmy, I saw his eyes widen, as he thought of the possibilities. He knew my theory could be right. What if something happened?

"OK. I let you come with me, but we need to keep it a secret, understand?" I jumped in the air of happiness, and Jimmy sighted, already regretting his decision. "Don't tell anyone, OK?"

"They won't even notice I'm gone, I promise." I jump off the veranda and walk next to him. "We'll be back before dinner, right?"

"Probably." That didn't sound good, but I ignored it. We were on our way.

_Ryan_

I was running. I was running as fast as I could. They were after me, and if they would catch me, I was dead. For real now.

I didn't know how they found me. I didn't know they knew I was still alive. All I knew, was that I had to keep running.

I ran around a tree, and put my back against it. I held my breath for a second. I needed to rest, just for a little while. I couldn't go on like this. My shoulder burned as hell, and I was sure I had an infection. Stupid wound. I was losing blood too, and fast. I had to stop it, and soon. The blood only gave them a track to follow. And if I didn't do something fast, I would die of blood-lost before they would catch me.

I heard the leaves crack and branches move. They were close. I inhaled deeply, and started running again.

_Jimmy_

We were walking for about an hour now. Carl didn't complain at all, which surprised me. He was very focused on what we were doing, and kept quiet the whole time.

I tried with all the tracking skills I had in me, to follow the path. It was a hard thing to do, and we got lost a few times. And I thought we were lost now too.

"I think we missed something" I said. Carl stopped and looked at the ground.

"Yeah, I don't think we're doing any good."

"Thank you" I replied sarcastically. I looked around, searching for any familiars. Nope.

"Maybe we should go back" I said.

"No, we're not. Let's go to the highway, see if there are any tracks there?"

"I don't think…" That didn't sound so bad as I thought. "Wait, maybe we should."

"Do you know the way there?" There was some scared tone in Carl's voice, but he didn't show it in his face.

"I'll find one. Don't worry, we'll get there."

Carl smiled, and looked around again. He then pointed at something far away. "Look. There's a building."

I looked through the leafs of a high tree, and saw the top of a church. "The graveyard?"

"We went there when we looked for Sophia. I think we can look for a path towards the highway there!"

"Good idea, let's go!" I finally had some hope in this search-party. I first felt like Indiana Jones, later as Johnny English, but now I was Sherlock Holmes. And I felt pretty badass. The energy flew through my body, and I started running. The building got bigger and bigger as we got closer, and I ran faster than Carl. He laughed as I passed him. I ran forward, but slowed down as I saw what was happening there.

I almost ran over the graveyard, but ran back and hid behind a bush. I pulled Carl next to me as he came running. I put my finger on my lips, to tell him to be quiet.

"What's wrong?" he whispered with big eyes. I pulled away some leafs to make a small hole in the bush to show him. There was a car in front of the church, a big jeep. In front of it stood three man. One tall, skinny man with brown hair and a black vest, one black man with wide shoulders, and one Mexican with a slight beard and dark eyes. The two last were holding a fourth man, who was bleeding all over the place. The brown haired man, who seemed to be the leader, was hitting him in his face, chest and stomach. His head hung towards the ground, and his shoulders seemed weak. He didn't resist, not at all.

The leader of the men pulled his head up by the hairs, and we saw his face.

"NO!" Carl cried, and I quickly put my hand over his mouth. I saw the men looking around, alarmed by the yell.

"Shit!" I whispered through my teeth. I kept looking at the men, and saw Ryan look up. Somehow, he seemed to look straight into my eyes. As if he really saw me. He gave me a quick nod, before he started to move. He kicked the black man in the balls, who collapsed to the ground. His arm was free, so he hit the Mexican on his jaw and smashed his head against the front of the truck. Ryan grabbed his gun of his belt.

The leader turned around, confused about what was happening, and got a gun stuck in his face. He put his hands up.

"Turn around!" Ryan shouted. The man did as he said. There was a moment of silence, and suddenly the black man got up. Ryan didn't turn around, but he knew what was happening behind his back.

"Don't move, or I'll shoot him!" The man stood still.

Ryan turned his head towards us, and shouted one word; "Go!"

He slammed the gun into the back of the leaders head, and shot the other man in the chest. I pulled Carl up by his shoulder and started running back. I turned around, and saw Ryan run towards us.

"Go, go,go!" he said, and we ran further into the forest.

I held Carl close to me, who looked shocked. If I was as old as him, I would be crying right now, but he stayed strong and kept running. I heard Ryan breathe loudly, and turned around. He was tripping over branches and leafs, but kept running. He was almost on the ground. I let go of Carl, and ran back to Ryan. Carl stopped, confused and turned around.

"Keep running!" I said. I put Ryan's arm over my shoulder, and let him lean on me as we ran further. Ryan was losing a lot of blood, and said things to himself. I was afraid he got crazy, but his eyes were still clear.

"That's far enough" he said, with a weak voice. I stopped running.

"Carl!" I shouted. The boy with the hat came back. We both breathed, like we just ran a marathon. Ryan pointed at something.

"In there" he said, leaning on me. I looked at his finger, and saw him pointing at a tree with a bunch of leafs and branches on it.

"What?" I asked. He pushed himself away from me, and slipped with his feet over the ground, towards the tree. He leaned on the wood of other trees, so he wouldn't fall, and he seemed like an old man. He let himself fall down next to the pile, and moved it. I stood next to him and looked over his shoulder. There was a hole in the ground, and his backpack lay in there.

"You still have your stuff?"

"Yes" he whispered, as if normal talk was too much for him. He grabbed his bag and sat down with his back against the tree. He opened it, his hands shaking. He looked inside the back, looking for something. He finally found it, and held it in the air.

It was a lighter. He held it out to me. "Here, hold this for me."

I lifted my eyebrows, but took it. Ryan bent forward, and pulled his shirt over his shoulder. His whole chest was a bloody mess, and it all came from his shoulder. The wound was almost black and the flesh to red to be naturel. Carl cleared his throat, miserable of the view.

Ryan grabbed his knife from his backpack, and hold out his hand again. I gave him the lighter, and he put on the flame.

"What are you doing?" I asked. He held the knife above the lighter, and the blade almost turned red from the heath.

"I have to close the wound, before I lose more blood. It's the only way." He looked at the blade and waited till it was almost orange. "Give me a branch, please."

Carl handed him a branch, with he put between his teeth. "Jimmy, put your hand over my mouth. Just in case."

I did as he said. Ryan put out the lighter, and looked at me. "Here we go."

**Gosh, a lot of trouble! I'll try to upload later this week, chapter 22 on the way!**

**x LaurenRoover**


	22. Chapter 22: Heroes

**Hey dear people!**

**Chapter 22, a long one! Last chapter, we had some action, this chapter, I focused more on the emotions. I'll try to upload next week again. And because I cannot upload so much these days, the chapters will be long, but I don't think that bothers, right ;)**

**Follow/review if you like! Makes me very happy every time! ^-^**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead, characters or some of the storylines)**

**Enjoy ;)**

_Chapter 22:_

_Carl_

I rubbed over my cold arms as I walked to the back of the cave. Ryan leaned against a rock, looking like he was wearing a Halloween costume.

"Is he back yet?" he asked with a strong voice. It was weird to her the strength in his voice compared with how weak he looked. Jimmy was out there, checking on the men Ryan got away from.

"Nope, but I think he's close" I answer, as I sit next to him. "Are you coming back now?"

Ryan laughed sadly, and shook his head. "No, I can't. I have…things that I need to fix."

"But we need you! My dad and Shane are arguing all the time, my mom's pregnant, Beth is in a coma, it's getting colder, Daryl is separating himself from us…"

"Slow down, man" Ryan said, as he put his hand on my shoulder. "Your dad and Shane will figure something out, like they always do. And your mom being pregnant….that's a wonderful thing! Congrats, big brother Carl!"

I wanted to glance, 'cause I was proud of it, but this wasn't the time. "Ryan, you need to come back! Beth really needs you!"

Ryan looked down at his knees, looking guilty. "It's my fault this happened to Beth. She won't talk to me. I can't help her. I've done enough already."

I opened my mouth to say more, but closed it. I had a quick flash back from the other night. Shane was saying things about Ryan….. "Is it true?"

"What?" Ryan asked, surprised by the sudden question.

"Shane says it's your fault. The walkers. Is it?"

I was scared for the answer, but I needed to know. Ryan was a guy of secrets, and I was about to discover the biggest one.

Ryan looked at me, and his smile faded away. No expression on his face, and it's an awkward stare for a long time. He then cleared his throat.

"Yes" he whispered. I was stunned. I was sitting next to the guy who had caused the end of the world. He made the dead rise up again. What kind of sick mind does that?

"How did it happen?"

Ryan sighted, moving his hands over his eyes. "I discovered the virus by accident. It had to be a cure for cancer, but it turned out differently. The rats I was testing it on, died, but returned and started eating the others. They would die again after three hours. I suddenly got a call of the government. They offered me the job of my life. I took it, as stupid as I was. They wanted me to make the virus again, and make it into a drink or something. So they could use it, as a weapon. I thought I was doing the right thing for my country, but when I discovered I what I was actually doing, I was too deep into it. There was no going back. So I destroyed everything, and ran away. I burned down the building. I thought it was over."

"But it wasn't?"

"No" Ryan replied. "They somehow found out another virus that was just like it, but this one was more aggressive. When they started using it on people, it turned out differently."

Ryan suddenly bend over to me, his face close to me, looking straight into my eyes. "I didn't do it on purpose. I never intended to. But still, it is my fault. And I have to make it right. Those guys you saw out there, they're after me. Since I broke out prison. They know what I can do, they know I can make it right."

He put his hand under his shirt, and grabbed something. It hang at a wire around his neck. He pulled it off, and showed it to me. It was a tiny bottle, not bigger than a thumb. "This is the answer. This is the beginning of the cure. I need to find a place to do my research. But I can't do that with these guys around. What I'm holding here, is the virus itself. If those guys ever get their hands on it….We are all dead. We both know that one of us is not going to make it back to the farm. If one of us doesn't lead them away from there, it's going to be a disaster. That's why I need you to keep this safe for me."

He opened my hand and lay the tiny bottle in my palm. "Don't tell anyone about it. Not even your dad. Not even Beth. It's our secret, OK?"

"So you're going away?" I asked, with a stone in my throat. "Please, come back! We can fight them, together!"

"No Carl, we can't" Ryan answered, closing my hand. "I will lead them away from the farm, so everybody's safe. And you, my friend, will be protecting the biggest secret on this earth. I need you to keep it safe for me. I will come and get it as soon as I get rid of those guys."

"But what if you don't come back?"

He looked down, not knowing what to answer on that. He went with his hand through his messy hair, sighting at the ground. "You have to keep it safe. I will return, whatever it takes. And If I don't….you'll keep it until you find someone who can actually do something with it. You find a doctor, or a scientist. And if something happens, you run into those guys, or someone wants to take it from you….you destroy it."

He looked into my eyes. "You hear me? You destroy it, right away. I trust you with this Carl, 'cause you're a good person, and you are made for this task. I believe in you."

I felt the bottle in my hand, squeezing it between my fingers. I held it against me, close, and felt the answers, hidden in the liquid. I blinked my tears away, and nodded. I realized I wasn't a kid anymore. This wasn't the nice and happy world I thought it was. It became cold. And so was I. I needed to. I had to save the world.

_Jimmy_

I looked through the leafs. I stayed low, close to the ground. I really had my nose sticking between all the green. I felt like a spy, a detective. Almost like….Batman. Really, I should stop fantasizing about superheroes and stuff.

I noticed the car was gone, which scared me a little. So they were gone….but where did they go? I sneaked between the bushes, towards the church. I tried to find tracks of the car, and kneeled down like a real….NO! Not like that! I just kneeled down, going with my fingers over the ground. They headed North, towards the high way, which was fortune, 'cause the farm was just the opposite direction.

I ran back, trying to find my way back to the cave we were hiding in. It was not far away from the church, and pretty hidden. You can't say it's a cave from the outside. It's really hidden under a cliff, behind a tree. The sun hung high in the sky. It was almost noon when Carl and I left the farm, so it should be around four now.

When I got to the cave, Ryan was standing with this backpack in his hands. Carl stood next to him, looking more serious than before. He seemed to look completely different. The way he looked out of his own eyes was…almost mature. I didn't know what they had been talking about, but it completely changed him. Ryan looked a little less tired, but still bloody. His axe leaned on his shoulder, as always, and he stood almost straight. His left shoulder still stood a little weird, and the burned skin still bleed a little under the bandage.

"Everything OK?" he asked. I didn't actually know what to answer. Yes, they were gone, but no, they're still close.

"Well…they headed off to the high way, that's all I know" I just answered. Ryan nodded, and looked at Carl.

"Well, I guess our adventure ends here."

"What do you….you're still going?" I couldn't believe it. "Dude, you can't do that! Beth…."

"Beth is in better hands with you than with me" Ryan interrupted me. "I need to make things right, she'll understand that."

"What am I supposed to say to her?" I threw my hands up in the air, shocked.

"The truth" Ryan answered calmly. "I left, because I had to make thing right."

"You're not doing anything right with leaving" I said, a little frustrated. "It won't help her. It won't fix her."

"Jimmy, I don't have a choice" Ryan said, a little less calm. "It's the only way I can prevent those guys from getting the farm."

"What?" I didn't understand the change of subject.

"I need to lead them away from the farm, the highway isn't far enough." Ryan looked at Carl for a second. "You don't know these guys, you don't know what they're capable of. They found me once. They know I'm around here. They will keep looking in this area, until they found me."

"But….Beth….you…and" I couldn't find the words.

"I'm sorry, Jimmy, but I'm doing this because I care about all of you" Ryan said, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "I want to protect you, I want to make my mistakes right. And this is how I'm doing it."

I kicked a rock away from my feet. This was insane. This was stupid. Beth would never be the same. Neither would Hershel.

"What do we tell the others?" I asked, 'cause I sure as hell didn't know.

"Tell them about the men, and why I left. The truth is the longest to hold."

I sighted, rubbing my sweaty forehead. "OK. I'll guess you're right."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy" he said, as he stepped towards me. "I want to thank you for what you did today. I know you don't….like me, but you moved that aside to help the girl you love. That's very brave."

Suddenly, he grabbed one of my shoulders, and I saw his eyes turn red a little. "You need to take good care of her for me. Don't you ever…."

He blinked his tears away, swallowing whatever that was stuck in his throat. "Protect her with your life."

"I will" I answered, shocked by all the emotions. If all that happened with Beth and me didn't happen, I would say he made a lot of drama. But it did happen, and I had changed my mind about a lot of things.

_Ryan_

We got to the church, and Jimmy showed me the tracks of the car. "They took the road to the North indeed, but are you sure it leads to the highway?"

"Yes, very sure" the guy answered, nodding.

"OK, than I guess I'm going that way, and you go back to the farm." I stood up, and gave Jimmy a hand. "Thanks for what you did. You're a good person, don't forget that."

He seemed a bit surprised by my compliments, and glanced shy towards the ground. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something.

"You could've escaped from those guys any time. But you didn't until you saw us. Why?"

I had hoped he forgot about that. I really wanted to leave now, they didn't understand in what danger they were to be around me.

"I thought escaping wasn't an option" I answered calmly. "They had me already, escaping would only make it worse."

"Well, sorry we made it worse."

"Don't be" I laughed. "It was good to talk with you guys before leaving. But don't worry, I will come back." I looked at Carl. "One day."

Carl patted softly on his pocket, and I could see the little bottle in there. I glanced, and hold out my hand. He looked at it, like it was something dirty, and then put his arms around my waist.

"Whoa, Carl" I said, shocked by this reaction. He stepped back, blushing.

"Don't tell anyone about that" he said softly.

"I won't."

Jimmy hold his shotgun in both hands, and was ready to leave. "Well, time to go."

I nodded, and started walking away from them, not knowing if there was any more I should say. I turned around once, to wave at them before disappearing in the woods. They still stood there, watching me. The look in Carl's eyes crushed my heart, but I knew this was the best I could do to keep him and the others safe. And Beth. Especially Beth.

_Daryl_

I stood up as soon as I saw the bushes moving. I quickly grabbed my crossbow, and waited, aiming with my eyes. When the boy and the farmer guy stepped into the light, I lowered my weapon. Normally, I wouldn't care what they had done in there, but then it really got my attention. Their t-shirt were full of blood, but they were both not wounded.

"So, what were you two up to today?" I asked. Carl jumped in the air, holding his hat.

"Nothing!" he quickly said, before the other guy could open his mouth.

"Really? The blood on yer shirt tells somethin' different."

Carl looked down at his shirt, shocked. He looked up to me. "Please, don't tell my mom!"

I chuckle by the way he was scared of his mother. "I won't tell, I just wanna know what you've been up to."

"We had a little fight with some walkers" Jimmy said, and lay his hand on Carl's shoulder before he could say more.

"Really? That blood looks pretty human."

"You got it wrong" the boy objected. He held the shotgun close to him, as he pulled Carl with him.

"Are yah gonna tell Hershel tha same?" I questioned. He stood still, and turned around, looking busted.

"It's not of your business."

"I made it my business. Now tell me about yer adventure."

"Shut up, Daryl!" Carl suddenly shouted. "You go into those woods every day, and nobody questioned you about it! It's not of your business."

I was surprised by the strength and anger in the voice of the boy. He looked me in the eyes, and his hat made a shadow over his face. He looked like someone's worst nightmare. Even Jimmy did not know what to do. Carl kept looking at me, until Jimmy put a hand on his shoulder. Carl shook it off, and walked away.

Jimmy looked at me, back at Carl, and walked after him.

I sat down, confused about what just happened.

_Yah got dizzed by a kid, bro. _

"Shut up!"

_Rick_

I ignore Shane's cold look as I sat down at the table. The smells from the kitchen flew into my nose, and I heard my stomach grumble a little. I sat down next to my wife, who glanced at me. Shane sat at the other end of the table, and I told myself I wasn't going to look at him all evening. Everybody was there, except for Daryl. He kinda left us, camping somewhere else.

Carl sat down next to his mom. "Hi, mom."

"Hi, sweety" she answered, taking the hat off. "No hats at the table."

She looked at her son, lifting her eyebrows. "Did you change clothes?"

"Uh, yeah, I was with Jimmy at the lake, and I fell in some mud…."

"You've been where?" I asked. I wasn't going to be mad at him, I was too tired for that, but he had been going somewhere without telling us.

"The lake. It's not far away. Ask Hershel." Carl seemed pretty confident about his own story, but I saw him rubbing over the pocket of his jeans. He quickly looked at something else, while the rest of the group sat down at the table.

"So, Hershel, how's Beth doing?" Dale asked, as dinner was served.

"She's doing better" Hershel answered, with sadness in his voice he couldn't cover up. "She coming back to the surface."

"That's good to hear" Dale smiled friendly. "And the boy?"

"Randall?" Hershel swallowed some vegetables before continuing. "I was able to fix his leg as best as I could. He should be able to walk, but not as good as before."

"And what are we going to do when he's fully recovered?" Dale was now looking at me. I looked back, thinking about the right words to say. I felt Shane's eyes burning in my back.

"We're thinking about dropping him somewhere, about 18 miles out" I said, "Give him some supplies, and sent him on his way."

Dale nodded, and seemed satisfied with the answer. He looked at Shane really quick, and I noticed there was some tension between those two. Shane looked at Dale as if he was about to eat him alive, and Dale looked like he was about to throw his fork into Shane's forehead.

But it kept quiet for a while, until Glenn said something. "So….nobody's gonna look for Ryan?"

Carl swallowed a piece of meat to fast, and started coughing. While his mother patted him on his back, I saw Jimmy giving an alarmed look to Hershel.

"Here, drink some water" T-dog said, as he poured a glass for him. The attention was on Carl, but the question still hang in the air like smoke. I think we all didn't want, or know how to answer it. Of course, Shane needed to be the one to say something.

"Ryan left, 'cause we found out he's not the goody-goody we thought he was."

I bit myself at the inside of my cheek. Ryan was a guy of secrets, but he's a good one.

"We just don't have the time for him" I said to Glenn, ignoring the annoyed sight of Shane. I saw Jimmy who was looking too innocent, focusing on his dinner. Something was up with him. I saw Hershel looking at me from the corner of my eye, but he quickly looked away as I turned towards him.

Something was going on. Somewhere I knew, that this whole thing around Ryan wasn't over yet.

_Beth_

I heard a voice. A warm, soft voice. It made words. Words I couldn't understand. They were too far away. They echoed, as if they were thrown into a well. It told me to wake up. It told me to come back. To go back, back to the surface. I felt like I was in a swimming pool. Everything was dark. The voice got louder, and all the black turned a little grey. I started to remember things. Mom that got sick, died, and returned. Jimmy that put her in the barn. The little girl, Shawn's accident, Rick who came running up the land, Carl bleeding, the first time I saw Ryan, our first touch, kiss, the fight with Jimmy, the 'talk' with my mom, shooting lessons, the truck, Jimmy's hands, running into the forest, Ryan finding me, Ryan getting shot, our talk, his secrets, the barn, and last…..mom's muck.

With every memory, the sight became lighter. I started seeing forms, and the voice in my head got louder and louder. Suddenly, I looked at the white ceiling of my dad's bedroom. I felt the soft pillow under my head, the blanket over me. I blinked a few times, my eyes felt dried out. I leaned on my elbows, as I sat up. It was dark outside, and next to me burned a candle. I heard voices inside. I smelled food.

I crawled to the end of the bed, softly putting my feet on the ground. I felt a little dizzy, and the voice still echoed through my head. I stood up, blinking the blue spots from my sight. Leaning on whatever I could find, I made my way to the door. I sneaked towards the stairs. My legs hurt as I climbed up, but I ignored it. My head felt heavy, like a stone, and my neck had a hard time keeping it up. I sat down on top of the stairs, feeling miserable. It took everything to pull myself up again, and walked to my own room.

I opened the door, and stood still looking at all my stuff. All this seemed so strange, but familiar at the same time. I looked through my window, and saw the barn. The barn, which I thought had all the answers. But it all was stupid. It was all hopeless. There was no cure. There was no happy ending. There was nothing. There was nothing for me here. I loved my father, I loved my sister, I loved Patricia, and I loved Ryan. But I couldn't watch them become one of those things. I couldn't handle that. There was no way we could escape it. There was no way to stop it. How can I still live with the thought that if I don't watch myself, I will get sick and turn into a monster? What if I get bit, like my brother and my mother? It seemed better to just quit. The thoughts made me crazy.

I walked away from the window, to my mirror. I looked at myself. My hair was dirty, my eyes were red, surrounded by a grey circle, my skin was pale and I seemed to have lost a lot of weight. I sighted, and knew for sure; I had to go. Now.

I looked at my table, and found the little souvenir my mom once gave me; a small statue of Mary. It was made of stone, and exactly what I needed. I grabbed it, and threw it at my reflection. The mirror broke into pieces, falling on the carpet. I kneeled down, to find the sharpest. When I had found it, I turned around to look at my room one more time. For the last time. I held the piece in my hand, as I looked over all the pictures, posters, clothes, books. It would all be gone after a few cuts. The barn, the illness, the misery, the pain….I held the piece above my pulse, and inhaled deeply. I blinked the tears away.

This was it. This was my choice. This was what I needed to do. I held it up, aiming for one of the arteries. I was ready to cut into it, as I saw something. From the corner of my eye, I saw something red. It stood next to the door. I turned my head, to see a red fire axe. And then, the voice got louder, and I could finally hear the words.

_Please, Beth. Wake up. Come back. Come back to us. They need you. You can't keep doing this to yourself. I know I'm not the best boyfriend in the world, but I love you. I won't be here when you wake up. I can't tell you when we will see each other again. But I know we will. I will do whatever it takes to come back to you. I need you to know that I left because I had to. I had to protect you and the others. One day, I will explain, but there's no time for it now. I'm sorry about everything. But I'm gonna make it right. I will make it right. I won't let you down. I will come back._

I fell on my knees as I realized who was talking to me. The piece of mirror slipped through my fingers. I crawled towards the door, grabbing the axe. It was still warm. He had been here. But he's gone now, and he will come back.

I ran towards the window, looking over the land. There was no sign of him. He was gone. I held the axe close to me. To my heart. I had to be strong. For him, for myself, for my family.

_Ryan_

I hid behind a car. _Shit, _I thought. The men were indeed at the highway, and they were still there. I could hear them talk, planning about bringing over a bigger group. How was I gonna do this?

I grabbed my handgun, and looked at the ammo I had. 7 rounds. My lucky number. There were 8 of them. 8 against one. What are the odds?

I readied myself, feeling the burn in my shoulder. I was gonna do this. I had to. I exhaled to courage myself, and was about to step out, when I felt something put against my head.

"Oh, I don't think so" a manly voice said. I wanted to turn around, but the man pushed me with my head against the car. "No no, slowly. That's right, slowly twistin'."

I looked at a man who's left hand was put in some kind of weird glove, with a knife stuck to it. In the other hand, he held a gun, pointing at my forehead.

"My, o my, it's been a long time," Merle Dixon laughed.


	23. Chapter 23: Gods

**Peeeeooople!**

**Ready for another chapter full of talking, mystery, emotions, mind games and more? How was last chapter? Are you excited seeing Merle in the story? I am! He's very interesting to write about, he was always a bit mysterious in the show, and I like to discover more about him during this story. **

**Follow/review, make my day!**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead)**

_Chapter 23: Gods_

_Carl_

I sat on the porch, watching everybody do what they do. It had been three days since I last saw Ryan. Everybody went on with their lives, like nothing happened. Like my dad and Shane never came back all beaten up after they tried to get rid of Randall. That my mom isn't pregnant. Like Ryan never left. The only thing that could make me feel less miserable in these days, was the fact that nobody bothered to keep an eye on what I did all day, 'cause they were too busy handling their own shit. (Don't tell my mom I said that.) And another was that Beth was getting better. She somehow wasn't all depressed, like Jimmy thought she would be. She was still tired an weak, but not depressed. I bet that her disappeared boyfriend has something to do with it.

I stood up. I couldn't believe I was so bored at the end of the world. I looked around over the fields. Nobody was really paying attention to me. My eyes fell on Daryl's camp. It was set up very far away from the house and our camp. I wondered what he was doing there, all day long. I started walking towards his camp. I didn't see him there, so he was probably doing something else; probably hunting. At least, I hoped he was doing that. I didn't think the big hunter-guy liked me that much. Of course, I was just another stupid kid. Wait, I shouldn't say that. 'Cause Sophia…..she meant something to him. Daryl suddenly cared a lot about a little girl he barely knew. He almost died trying to find her. Why? I made a plan; I was gonna sneak into his camp and search his stuff. This cool, mysterious guy had a lot of cool stuff, I was sure of it. I almost started running, I was so curious. But then, I felt the small bottle in my pocket. It was bouncing up and down. I stopped, remembering I wasn't a little kid anymore. I had a task to do, I couldn't play around. I had to save the world. I wasn't going to play around in Daryl's camp side. No, I was just investigating. Just trying to find out why he cared so much about Sophia, and get a look at all the cool stuff. What? No, not that. Just investigating. Just looking.

_Beth_

"Hey, Beth?" I turned to the other side of the bed, even though it hurt my shoulders. I saw Lori standing in the doorway, holding a plate with a sandwich on it. Immediately I felt the hallow space in my stomach, and had to keep myself from jumping up and grabbing the food.

"How are you feeling?" The sweet brunette put the plate on the drawer next to the bed. The smell of the sandwich flew into my nose, and my stomach grumbled.

"Better. Little hungry, but better."

Lori smiled. "Well, you're lucky I stopped by. How about you eat this up and we go for a walk? It's not too cold outside."

"Where do you wanna go?" I honestly didn't want to walk outside. I wanted to stay in bed for another day, or two. There was so much I had to think about. So much to process. I wished I could talk about it with someone. Maggie was my sister, but I couldn't tell her about Ryan. She still had her suspicious about him, and with Shane telling everybody lies she sure wouldn't believe me.

"I think we can walk over the fields" Lori said, surprised by my question. "Maybe we could stop by the horses."

"You're pregnant, right?" I suddenly asked, panicking about this subject. I didn't want to go outside! "How can you do that?"

Lori's eyes widened, and she shut her mouth. She was absolutely not expecting this. She put some of her brown hair behind her ears, her face getting a little too pale. "Just…eat your food, OK?"

She then turned around and walked away. I somehow didn't feel bad for her. I don't think I was supposed to feel bad for her. She still had everything; a husband, a kid, a baby. She had everything. I had to admit that I was jealous of her. I lost my mom, my brother, my friends and…..you know who.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, sitting up. I grabbed the sandwich, and ate it in three bites. If my mom could see me now, she would be ashamed of her daughter eating like this. But she couldn't see me, she was gone.

I stood up. The blue spots that always appeared in front of my eyes kept their distance this one time, and I was happy to just walk to the door. I listened first, trying to hear footsteps or any other signs which could tell me that someone was in the house. I heard some sounds coming from the kitchen, and luckily, I didn't have to cross it to get to the stairs.

I slowly opened the door, making as less sound as possible. Walking on my toes I made my way to the staircase. Like a mouse, a sick, tired, blonde mouse, I climbed up. I wanted to go to my own room. Maggie had found me that one evening I woke up. She found me, sitting on the ground, surrounded by the broken mirror. I quickly hid the fire axe as I heard her coming up. Nobody knew I had it.

I immediately saw Maggie had cleaned the mess I made the other day. It was weird not to see myself in the mirror as I walked into my room. I suddenly regret I broke it.

I closed the door behind me, put the curtains in front of the windows, and kneeled down next to my bed. I reached my arm out, trying not to cut myself as I felt the cold blade connecting with my fingers. I pulled it towards me, closing my hands around the stem. It was almost like I hold his hand. I could feel the form of his fingers in the wood, the material formed by all the fighting. The blade was full of scratches and dents, used a million times to slice the skulls of the undead.

I knew this was a weapon, a dangerous possession of the man I loved. But holding this, I felt protected, strong. I lay the axe on my lap and looked at it like a treasure. It was all I had from him. All he had left behind.

I heard a soft knock on my door. "Beth? You in there?"

My heart beat in my ears as I recognized the voice; Jimmy!

_Jimmy_

"Beth, please, open the door!" I tried to sound nicely, but I couldn't hide my frustration. I wanted to talk to her so bad, I wanted to see her move, see the life in her eyes. They had been dead for too long.

"Beth, I just wanna talk to you!" I knocked on the door again. I heard some rumbling, like she was moving some stuff. I could also hear her breathe heavily, like she was scared.

"Beth, I want to tell you something about Ryan." That was my last thing I could use to convince her. The rumbling stopped, so did the breathing. It was silent, and it scared me. I knocked on the door again, but didn't say anything.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Beth stood there in her nighty, her hair put in a messy ponytail, but her eyes bright like never before. The green fields of life were back, and the grey land of death was gone. I couldn't help than to grin a little, like a goof.

"What is it you want to tell me?" Beth ignored my stupid face, and wanted to go straight to the point.

"Can I come in? I think you would want to keep this for yourself."

She took a step back, her eyebrows lifted, like I said something ridiculous. Of course, you wouldn't want to be alone in a room with a guy that tried to have sex with you when you weren't ready for it. Like I said, I was a goof.

"Or we could talk downstairs, if you find that more comfortable." I knew I had already ruined it with her, but that didn't mean it was ruined for her and Ryan. I knew what he did was brave, and the best thing for all of us. He had said to me I was brave, but that couldn't be compared to what he was doing.

Beth nodded slightly, no trusting me fully. She looked over her shoulder, to her bed. I didn't ask why, I just went towards the stairs.

I saw Lori, Rick's wife, lift her eyebrows as she saw us sitting down at the dinner table. She gave me an warned look, like 'don't-you-touch-this-girl-ever-again'. She left, walking towards the camp outside, and Beth and I were alone. I could see she was uncomfortable, she kept looking out the window. The nearest person to the house, was the black man, T-dog. I could already know what she was thinking; _If he tries anything, I yell as loud as I can. _

She then turned to me, awaiting for the story. I sighed, not knowing where to start.

"So…you know Ryan's gone?" I started off. Great start. "Well, he didn't left because he wanted to. He had to…fix things. He had brought us all in danger, and is now trying to lead the danger away from us."

"So you believe the lies?" Beth said, narrowing her eyes. "The tales about him being a traitor."

"I….I…It's more complicated than that…." Ryan never told me I could tell her what I knew, but he also never told me I couldn't. "See, the lies, they're true, for a part. Not all of it."

"So what's true and what not?"

"Ryan….did discover a version of the virus, but someone else made it till what it is today."

"It isn't his fault?" A glittering jumped in her eyes, and I felt my heart bump a little louder. "I knew it!"

I grinned again, and I couldn't help myself. I touched her hand. Her eyes widened, and she pulled her arm back.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" I said as I stood up, walking away from the table. Beth still sat on the chair, relaxing her shoulders a little.

"It's OK, I just….I'm still a little….You know…."

Oh, yes, I knew. I was the one causing it. I stood still, near the couch. I was afraid I would scare her if I sat down again. It was better this way.

"Beth…I…I'm sorry, about…." I crossed my arms over my chest, looking at the ground. "About how things ended, between us. I wished I could turn back time, that I could take back the words, the things, everything. I…"

"Stop." Beth interrupted me with a loud voice. She demanded me to look up, by only pinning her green eyes into mine. "I know. You already told me this. I know. And I….forgive you. I forgive, but do not forget."

I was so surprised by the maturity in her voice, in her words. It seemed she had changed from a shy farmer's daughter into a strong woman. I was overwhelmed, confused, and in love.

_Carol_

I stood in the living room, and we waited for everybody to come in. I was nervous, scared, sad, heartbroken. My little Sophia….I couldn't believe it was already nine days ago. And now, we had to decide about the life of another kid. About Glenn's age. I couldn't imagine if it was Glenn, who was handcuffed in the shed. It could've been him.

I looked at the young man, who sat on the stool next to the piano. He was nervous too. I watched everybody come in, one by one. At last, Daryl's face showed up. He leaned against a drawer, not far away from me. I gave him a slight smile, and he gave me a nod. It wasn't annoyed, or patronizing. Not anymore. It was respectful, and a simple hello. I wished he knew how much it meant to me.

Finally, Rick and Lori showed up. Carl walked behind them, wanting to join us. But one look of his father towards him, and he quickly walked away. When we heard a door close, Glenn started talking.

"So, how do we do this? Just take a vote?"

"It doesn't have to be unanimous, does it?" Andrea said, standing next to Shane.

"Let's just see where everybody stands." Rick tried to keep it all down, one person at the time. I already didn't listen after that. All the talking, it made me feel sick. I just wanted to go back to what I do, washing clothes, cleaning up, cooking, doing the dishes, everything to keep myself occupied. Keeping my mind of the real problems.

As Rick wanted, everybody said something about it, except for me. I wasn't really paying attention, They were all just voices from somewhere far away. All like civilisation, humanity, killing, death, hanging him. It all hurt my head, so bad. I just wanted to lay down on the floor.

Suddenly they all started talking at once. Zooming around my ears. Dale almost screamed, with tears in his eyes. Shane was being the cool guy, already thinking about killing him. Andrea was the tough girl she pretended to be, even though she was better at reading books than shooting. Rick tried to keep it together, but like many other things, he failed. Lori played the good wife, giving her husband advice that was useless in this position. Daryl acted like he didn't care, but I knew he still wanted to be a part of our group. Maggie looked at Glenn many times, acting the silly girlfriend. Hershel just looked over everything, making a statement with just looking. T-dog played along with Shane, not smart enough to form his own opinion.

"Stop it! Just, stop it!" I shouted. All heads turned towards me, but most of all, Daryl's. "I'm sick of everybody arguing all the time!"

I tried to keep my head from spinning around and around, and looked over all the people in the room. "It's not working, OK? You're playing for God here! You can't decide about someone's life! We are all just people, not Gods! We're all that's left of humanity! Maybe, we aren't even human anymore!"

I thought about my own words, and suddenly, a person popped up in my head. "Ryan left. Nobody knows why. Nobody knew him very well. He didn't know us at all. But he helped us. He helped us out many times. Yes, he had done some shit, but we all did that. We all have done things we're not proud of! But that doesn't mean we're not people anymore! Besides Daryl, Ryan had put the most afford in the search for my daughter. And I didn't know why. It haunted me for days, trying to figure it out. One day, I asked him about it, and he answered; 'It is the human thing to do.'"

I stopped to catch my breath. My eyes were full of tears, and I felt so tired. But I wasn't done yet. "You can decide, but decide as humans. Not like Gods."

I then turned around, and walked out the door, leaving the people stunned.

_Dale_

I was pissed. I was mad. I was frustrated. I was defeated. I was stunned, and I was confused. All they wanted, was to decide. But killing him, that isn't a decision!

I was walking out of the house. I was done, so done with these people. I thought they were smarter, I underestimated them. The only real thinker here, would be Andrea. She had forgiven me for caring about her, and saw what I was saying. She knew this wasn't the right thing to do. She knew it.

I had my hat in my hand, and walked as fast as I could. I wanted to get away from them. All of them. Even Andrea, even Glenn. Poor Glenn, so young, so much to learn. If he could just understand that killing isn't…..

I stopped. It was hurting my head, all these thoughts. I shouldn't think about him like that. Glenn was a good kid, a young man with great conscience. He couldn't lie, which was a curse and a gift at the same time. I always helped him with whatever he struggled with, and he always had my back. But not this time. He led me down. He let me fall like a sack of potatoes.

Still, I was proud of him. Proud of him, for who he was, and who he was going to become.

I narrowed my eyes against the lowering sun, and saw the silhouette of the short haired mother, sitting on her knees in front of a grave. Her child's grave. The view shocked me more than I would think. Seeing her sadness, her pain. It struck right in my heart.

And I thought I owed her an apology, so I started walking towards her. It wasn't fair. This wasn't how the world was supposed to work. The elderly die first, and the next generation can take over the world. They get children, grow old, and die, and their kids do the same. It's the circle of life. How it is supposed to be. But this was the other way around. A mother shouldn't burry her child. That's not how it works.

I remembered my wife when she was pregnant. We were so happy the first time. We had everything ready, made it a home, build a life for the unborn. The miscarriage was a slap in the face. So unexpected. We were so happy, living in a dream that would never come true. We never thought about the possibilities of death. It was dumb to oversee it. People always oversee it. We just pretend it's not there, even when we know it's watching us. It's around every corner, everything that lives carries death inside it. Death was always one step behind us.

Now, the world had changed. Death seemed to be closer than ever before, even though the rules didn't change. It's still a game, staying alive, it's only getting harder. We lose people, we lose ourselves, we lose our humanity. And what's left, is almost nothing.

I stood still next to Carol, who was making a circle upon the dirt of the grave with white flowers. She didn't look up, but I knew she knew I was there. At first, I didn't say anything, and just let this be a moment of silence. Out of respect, for the girl and the mother. Carol's hands shook a little, and she sometimes sniffed her nose while lying down the flowers.

After the last one, she turned her head. "Have they decided yet?"

"Unfortunately, yes" I answered. It didn't seem to surprise or affect her. She already knew. I pointed at the flowers on the grave. "It's nice. I think she would like it."

Carol smiled sadly, and sniffed her nose. "Yes, I think she would."

I let remain a short silence, choosing my next words carefully. "I think I owe you an apology. I understand you're having a rough time, and I wasn't thinking clearly…"

"Don't be sorry" she said. "You did the right thing. Speaking out is a good thing, but please, leave me out."

"It hasn't changed anything, tough" I replied, kneeling down next to the woman. "It is decided. He will be executed tonight."

"It doesn't matter what we say, they won't listen" Carol sighed, going with her finger through the dirt. "Ryan would be so pissed if he knew this. He was one of the few people who stood up for what he thought. When Shane wanted to open the barn, Ryan was the only one who tried to stop him."

"You really liked him, didn't you?" I smiled. The memory of the young man with the fire axe, who seemed to hide so much, gave me a strange feeling in the stomach.

"Yes, he was a nice person. I think she would've liked him too."

"Do you believe the things Shane is saying?" I was curious, and analysed her face while waiting for the answer.

"I don't know" she simply said. "I remember him the way I knew him, and nothing else. To me, he was polite, he didn't patronize me, like most of you do. No offence."

"It's OK, I understand" I quickly said. "Just wanted to know what you thought."

_Daryl_

I put the lock on the door of the shed.

"Can I get some water?" the guy inside asked. I didn't answer the stupid question. I wasn't in the mood to play either.

If it wasn't for Rick's dickhead son, this guy would be dead now, and all the trouble would be over. But no, the kid ruined everything by walking in when Rick was just about to blow the guy's head off. Now, it wasn't over yet, and that annoyed me. I didn't like all the stupid talking, and the way it made me think for myself. I didn't want to be a part of this group, at least, a part of me didn't want to be a part of this. At first, I tried so hard to be accepted, respected, to fit in the group, but after what happened to the little girl, I realized I was useless to this group. I couldn't do anything right. And once I did somebody a favour, all I got was nothing. No gratitude, no compliments, nothing. I'm not their damn housekeeper!

It also annoyed me that Carol started bringing Ryan up this afternoon. I had just forgotten about him, finally managed to hide the guilt deep inside me, but she shoved it up from deep under the ground. It pissed me off, real bad. I could already imagine what Ryan would think of this situation; he would say we should let Randall stay, let him live, damn, he would even volunteer to be his guard. 'Cause that was the kinda guy he was. A dumb monkey with a good heart.

I suddenly heard a scream, from somewhere on the fields. I turned my head, and looked around. Nothing by the house, nothing by the camp, nothing by the barn, and then suddenly….close to the fence. I saw the old man falling to the ground, something pushing him down.

Walker! That was the first thing that came to mind. I grabbed my hunting knife as fast as I could, and started running.

_Ryan_

I jumped up. I opened my eyes, tried to remember my dream. I tried to get back into the real world, but all I saw was darkness. I smelled something that looked like dried up blood, and dust, and realized I had a bag over my head. A used bag.

I tried to move my arms, but I couldn't. They were stuck, taped at something that seemed to be a chair. The same happened to me feet.

I tasted blood in my mouth, and swallowed the iron taste away. All of my senses were down, except for my hearing. It was then when I heard a door open, footsteps, and suddenly, the bag was pulled over my head.

A bright light shone into my eyes, and I bowed my head. A hand roughly grabbed my chin and pulled my face up.

"Waky, waky, lil'princess!" said an annoyingly remarkable voice. "It's a big day today!"

"Shut up, Dixon" I whispered.

"I'm sorry, could yah repeat tha last?" He put his hear right in front of my mouth. It was very tempting to just bite a piece out. Instead, I spit inside it. With colouring words, Merle stepped back, giving me a kick with his leg. "What's wrong with yah? Ar' yah on yer period or som'thing?"

He laughed, grabbed a chair, and sat down in front of me. He put the chair backwards, and leaned with his weird Captain Hook-thing on the back of the chair.

"It's time we have a lil'talk."

I didn't answer, and blinked my eyes, still getting use to the light. The light was coming from a tl-lamp. The room we were in, seemed to be some kind of office.

"So, I'll just get it out right away; yer lil' friends at the farm."

I looked up, widened my eyes. _No. No. Shit. Crap. Fuck. Had they found the farm?_

"Aha, so you know?" Merle smiled triumphant. The stupid face he made, awakened a fire of madness in me. I wanted to say so many things, so much rage, but I couldn't get anything out but growls.

"Would yah look at that, tha mad scientist awakes!" He put his weird knife thing under my chin, forcing me to stop moving. "Don'cha worry about them, they won't feel anythang!"

Another wave of rage flew through me, and I jumped and kicked around in the chair.

"You know, kid, yah remind me of ma brother. He was always a rage-kid, like you. Lil' Daryl was every parent's worst nightmare!"

I wanted to growl again, when I realized what he had just said. Daryl? Did he say Daryl? Was he….Daryl's brother? Could it be? It was either a death sentence, or a life saver. Daryl once mentioned having a brother, right before I left. And now Merle was saying he had a brother called Daryl…..Could it be?

I then thought that I should risk everything. I had nothing to lose. Not anymore. I had to try everything I had to convince him.

"Daryl's your brother?" I asked carefully. The smile immediately was replaced with a look of confusion.

"Yah know him?"

"Crossbow guy? Of course, he's with my other palls at the farm, right now!" I tried to sound excited, like when you just found out the person you met is related to a friend of yours in a normal situation. In a situation where you're not tied to a chair, ready to be tortured.

"So he's yer pall, huh?" An expression of anger suddenly flipped in. "Is tha officer yer pall too?"

"Shane? Or Rick?" This was when it gets hard. I wasn't sure what to answer. But by the hate in his eyes, I kinda had a feeling he and my group had a history that didn't end well. "I don't think they liked me that much."

"Yeah, well, yer pall Rick didn't like me that much either" he said, holding his knife arm in the air. "Tha bastard made me cut of ma arm."

My jaw dropped and made my face into a shocked expression. "I knew he was rude, but that's just…"

"Officer Friendly, that's what I like to call him." Merle rubbed his thumb over the blade. "He's gonna regret this soon."


	24. Chapter 24: I give you my word

**Hey hey hey!**

**Chapter 24, everybody! As you may have noticed, we're nearing the end of the season. You know what that means? An extra long chapter as a season finale! That's what chapter 25 is going to be. Now, I 'only' got ch 24, which is pretty long. A lot of mystery, secrets, drama...and next time...WALKERS!**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead)**

_Chapter 24: I give you my word_

_Ryan_

"What do you mean, regret?" I didn't like where this was going. Merle seemed to have a big issue with Rick, and maybe the rest of the group too. If he knew where the farm was….

Merle laughed at me. "You would like tha know that, don'cha? Well, I'm not supposed to tell yah. Got a big boss above me. But as yah probably remember, I ain't the kinda guy that follows orders."

O, I remembered. Merle got kicked out of the whole Virus-program. He was a sergeant in the army, leading the test team of the project. He was pretty reckless, and didn't follow any orders. When his captain found out he was also dealing drugs, his time was over. They kicked him out, even though he had been really close to the project and knew a bit too much about it.

"Look" Merle said, scratching over the wood of the chair. "My boss 'ere, he don't like other people. He ain't friendly. Once I've told 'm about tha place, they're goin' down."

"And what about your brother?" I asked, hoping to get into his head. "He's there too."

"I'll figure somethin' out. I think he woul' love to go with his big bro, like the plan was all along."

"You really think that?" I chuckled. I saw a little doubt in his eyes, which told me I had hit the sensitive spot I was looking for. "He's been thinking you were dead for like, what, a month? Do you really think he would still be with the group if he hated them? He has become a valuable member, and respected, appreciated. He's not gonna leave them for an asshole like you."

That earned me a slap in the face. I only grinned as I turned my head back. Merle was angry, pissed. Mentally not healthy, meaning he would not think twice about what I would try to offer him. I wanted to say more, but then he started talking.

"Yah know…..I saw you and the pretty blonde." My heart fell into my stomach. He saw that, and now it was his turn to feel accomplished. "Tha farmer's daughter. Pretty cute, young….can yah imagine what I could do if I get my hands on that?"

I bit my lips, tasting the iron of blood in my mouth. I tried to remain calm, but it was hard. I knew he was playing a mind game, like I tried with him. I knew I could not let the rage take over again.

When I didn't respond, Merle continued.

"Yah know, I once had a sweetheart of ma own. Haley, that was her name. I truly loved her, and she loved me. Then Big Guy took over and put a baby in her…..and things got complicated. I haven't spoke to her ever since, but tha last time, she had put the kid up for adoption. Stupid bitch."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. Merle put the knife under my chin, lifting it up.

"'Cause I want to. That's why." He then stood up, stretching his neck. "So, let's get to business. Do yah know why yer here?"

"'Cause I helped starting the end of the world?" It wasn't a serious answer, but pretty correct. Although I didn't came up with the Virus-project, I helped completing it.

Merle grinned. "Yeh're takin' tha words outta ma mouth, kid. And yah know what yah gotta do here?"

"Make an end to it." It was like he was practising Spanish words with me for class.

"Exactly. And do yah know what happens if yah don'?"

"Then you'll kill my family" I sighed. It was all clear. But with saying the last thing, I suddenly remembered my dream. "But what if my family isn't already dead?"

Merle seemed amused. "Yah really think we're that stupid?"

"Well, you just said your boss doesn't like new friends…."

I saw him being annoyed by his own words being used against him. He knew I was right, I would not continue my research for a cure if I had nothing to do it for. If I had nothing to live for, why would I suddenly help Merle?

"I can only give you my word." This sentence was probably the most clean one ever coming from his mouth. He gave me his word. It was sarcastically, but also serious. At the same time. He then turned silent. Either he didn't want to say anything, or he didn't know what to. I took this chance to tell him what I wanted to all along.

"You know why I destroyed the Virus-project?"

Merle chuckled. "'Cause yeh're an idiot."

"True, but there was more behind it." I seemed to have his attention. "I was experimenting one day, when I found out something weird. I had killed some human cells, and the virus started them back up again. It was not the exact same cell, but it was alive. I reported this to the leading scientist of the project, and was very proud of myself. But that night, as I went to bed, and I had the weirdest dream. I dreamt the virus infected someone, who died, and came back. But this time not the cells were different, the whole body was. The only living thing, was the brain. The rest was basically dead. It had turned into a living dead monster. It started to attack people, turning them into…."

"Cool story, bro" Merle interrupted me. "Not very original, but OK. Have yah ever thought of becomin' a writer?"

I ignored him and continued. "At first, I didn't believe it. I just thought it was a dream, even though it looked so real. I carried on with my work, but the next evening, I had the same dream. And this time, it looked even more real. I just ignored it. Thought it was nothing. But every time I discovered more about the virus, the dreams became weirder. I was young and stupid, and most of all scared. I couldn't take it anymore. I stopped the research and started experimenting. After what happened to the rats, I knew it was all real. So I destroyed everything. I burned down the whole building, and ran."

"Yah could write some kind of mystery novel, or a thriller…." Merle grumbled. Even though he tried not to be affected by my actions, I could see he knew I wasn't lying.

"They eventually caught me. I thought I was dead, but they kept me alive. I was the one person that knew everything about the virus, I knew it's origin, I knew it's future. I destroyed all the files and papers I had written on, and kept it all in my head. It was a curse and a gift at the same time. I was doomed to be in prison for the rest of my life, but I was alive. They still needed me for information. I tried to warn them, but they wouldn't listen…"

"Dude, what's the point of this story?" The act of not interested wasn't working very well, but I got that he wanted to know why I was telling him this.

"Well, last night, I had a dream again" I explained. "About my group, about your brother. Something real bad is going to happen to the farm."

_Beth_

We all stood in front of the grave. It was depressing to see all the piles of dirt in a row, under the trees I used to climb in as a little girl. I stood next to Jimmy, and I tried to listen to Rick, who was saying a few words for Dale. I really tried to pay attention, but I was so confused. I just needed to get it all straight.

Last night, a walker got through the fence. It killed one of our cows that was missing, and attacked the old man. It had ripped his belly open, and there was nothing we could do for him. The creepy man, called Daryl, had to shoot him in the face….

A cold rush flew through my body, and I trembled a little. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up. Jimmy lifted his eyebrows at me. _Are you OK?_

I gave him a smile and nodded. _I'm fine. _

He took his hand back, but stayed close to me. I hated how things had gone so wrong between us. After everything, somewhere deep down was the Jimmy I had played with for so many years. We were good friends since we were born. OK, he was a little older than me, but I knew him all my life. My father's idea of us getting married, destroyed everything. I didn't see Jimmy that way. He was my best friend, not my husband.

I suddenly noticed Rick had stopped talking. I didn't know for how long, I wasn't really there at the moment. Yes, it sure was sad to lose the old man. But I didn't know him that well.

Rick turned around and started walking towards the house. The others followed. I stood still in front of the grave for a while, just staring. I hadn't been there when the man died, but hearing how it happened, gave me Goosebumps. I looked at the dirt, and the shadow of the tree over it. Why did the good people always die? Why did the most appreciated persons went away?

My heart felt cold in my chest, as I thought of him. He had left me. He had left all of us. He said he would come back, but when?

"Beth, you coming?" I came back to the real world as Maggie talked to me.

"Yeah, sure" I answered, still a bit dizzy of my own thoughts. Maggie walked towards me, and stood still.

"What are you thinking?" she asked softly. I lifted my shoulders.

"I don't know. Everything."

She softly rubbed my back. "It's sad, isn't it? So many people who die…"

"How's Glenn feeling?" I asked. I had find out he was close friends with Dale. I saw Maggie's eyes sadden.

"He's…devastated. He thinks he betrayed him. He's mad at himself….and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Poor Glenn" I sympathized. I put my arms around my sister's shoulders. "You should ask if he wants to sleep in your room. I think he likes some comfort."

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna do that." My dad's plan was to bring everybody inside the house. The summer would soon end, and the nights were getting colder. Soon Jimmy would have to sleep in our house too, but I didn't think my dad's ready to allow that…

"You miss him, don't you?" Maggie suddenly asked. I felt my ears turn red. I hadn't told her about Ryan…

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently. Maggie looked at me, smiling playfully.

"You know what I'm talking about. Do you miss him?"

I pulled my arms back, feeling busted. I wanted to come up with a lie, but I couldn't think of one.

"It's OK, I'm not mad….Patricia told me."

"Patricia?" The disappointment and surprise were not to hide in my voice. Maggie laughed, and patted me softly on my head, like I was a dog or something.

"But you miss him, right?"

"Yes, of course!" I almost yelled it. She asked me three times now, rubbing the pain even further in my heart.

"Well, if he ever comes back, you have to kick him in the face" Maggie said, seriously. "You kick him for treating you like that. Hurting you. You get to go first, then me, OK?"

"But I don't want to hurt him" I replied. "If he would walk up the fields right now, I would jump into his arms, whisper in his ears never to go away again, kiss him, burry myself inside his chest, hold his hands, listen to his voice. Yes, I miss him. Is that what you wanted to hear?!"

I was pretty pissed at Maggie, for putting me in this situation. She was teasing me, but at the same time hurting me. I didn't want to talk about Ryan. It made me even more sad than I already was. I was sad all the time, even though I was beyond the part of killing myself. I realized afterwards that it was a stupid thing to do. Selfish and stupid.

Maggie seemed impressed by my little rage, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm sorry Beth, I didn't know…"

"Of course you didn't!" My voice broke, and I had to swallow a stone through my throat to talk further. "Glenn would never leave you. He may be sad right now, but in the end, he will always be by your side. And I will end up alone, like always."

"Beth, don't say that!" She took a step towards me, holding out her arms. "I won't ever talk about him again, I promise. I don't want you to be upset about him. I just want you to be happy, like in the past."

"This isn't the past anymore" I said, pushing her arms away. "If you really want to see me happy, then leave me alone."

I walked past her, angry, sad, hurt. I walked towards the house, where I saw all the group put all their stuff into our house. They might needed my help.

I took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself down, trying to keep the tears away. It would be silly to cry again, my mascara would be pretty useless. Don't judge, OK, I still am a girl.

_Ryan_

"So yeh're a scientist, a traitor, a criminal, a writer and a psychic?" Merle joked. I explained my dream three times to him, but he still wouldn't believe me.

"Listen dude, I'm not fooling around" I tried again. "I'm serious, if we don't do something, Daryl and the others will be dead before midnight!"

"So, if I understood it correctly, yer sayin' the biters from the cities are migratin' to 'ere?"

"That's right, hundreds of them, all heading this way."

"And tonight, they'll reach tha farm?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

"How did yah say they're gonna die again?"

"They'll try to stay inside the house, where the walkers will surround them" I explained to a little kid named Merle. "They will eventually turn on each other, a few will die, until someone opens one of the doors. Then they're dead."

"And yah also mentioned som'thin' about Rick killin'…..what's his name again?"

"Doesn't matter" I said, irritated. "But one of them fires a gun, which will attract the walkers to the farm."

"And then they go to the house?"

"Yes."

Merle chuckled. "I'm impressed. Interestin' story, bro."

"I'm not your bro" I grumbled between my teeth.

"Whatever." Merle sighed. "Well, what should I do?"

"I can lead you to the farm, we save the group, and I come back here with you."

Merle laughed, like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. "Great fantasy yah got there."

"It's the only way! I know the area, I know what I can do to help them!"

"Yah really think I'll help you?" He played it tough, but I saw the doubts under the jacket of the jock.

"If you really care about your brother, you would."

"Yah think I trust you?!" he shouted, spreading his arms out. "Man, yeh're supposed to be in prison! Yeh're a traitor to this country! How can I know you'll come back?"

"You gave me your word, I'll give you mine." I again used his own words against him, with didn't make it easier for him to decide. Save his brother from a painful death, or follow his orders?

I was surprised to see him nod. "I need ta overthink this."

_Shane _

Lori said she never loved me. Of course she's lying. I knew she was. She only said it because she's married. Married to my best friend.

When he was gone, everything was good. Lori loved me, Carl loved me. And I loved them. I still do. They were like my own family. Carl saw me as his new father, and Lori saw me as her new husband. It was supposed to be like this. It always was.

The only one standing in the way of my family, the women I love, and the kid's that practically my son, is my best friend. He's the one blocking me from what I deserve. I protected them all along, when he couldn't. He still couldn't. I tried to tell him that I was their saviour, their true hero. I deserved them. I was meant to be their protector. Not him.

When they thought he was dead, everything was good. They were past grieving, and going on with their lives. Lori started living again. Carl smiled more than ever before.

Then he came back, and everything got complicated. He made everything so difficult. Lori loved me, but got confused when Rick came back. She loves me, not him. Rick's the one causing all the trouble. The thing with Randall would already be over if it wasn't for him making the stupid decisions. The group would be better off without him. Rick always wanted to talk, talk, talk. It had to end. I had to put a stop to it. Too many people have died or disappeared under his lead. I know I can do better. I can end the suffering of everybody. I can fix this. I know what to do.

I pushed Randall in front of me, he still trying to start a conversation about his group. I ignored him, lost in my own thoughts. I pushed him even further, making him walk a few feet in front of me. I looked around, looking for any witnesses. None. Now was the time.

I walked up behind the kid. Put my hands on his neck and jaw. With one clear switch and a loud crack of his skull, my plan had started.

_Lori_

"Beth, can you put that in your father's bedroom, please?" I asked the blonde girl. She smiled sweet.

"Of course, missus Grimes."

"Please, just call me Lori" I said with a smile. No one ever called me missus Grimes. It made me notice again how old fashioned the way of upbringing by the Greenes was. Hershel was a believer of God, a true Christian, and even in these times, he still prayed every day. I respected that, a lot.

Beth seemed to take it serious too, but not Maggie. The pretty brunette seemed almost rebel comparing to her younger sister. OK, Beth had some things on her sleeve too. The whole drama-thing around Ryan seemed to go deeper than friendship…

Rick walked out of the house, and came down the small stairs. I was just resting out against the truck, and he came standing next to me.

"How are you feelin'?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine" I replied while I pushed a kiss on his lips. "Happy to sleep in a real bed tonight."

He grinned. "I am too. I think everybody is."

"Have you talked with Hershel about Jimmy?"

"No, but I don't think I'm supposed to." Rick leaned with his hand against the truck, next to my shoulder. "He's part of Hershel's family, not ours."

I lay my hand on his hand. "But we're one big family, right? We live together, eat together, cry, laugh, everything."

"I don' know" he sighed. I smiled slightly, touching his cheek.

"You gonna shave or what?" I grinned. He chuckled.

"You don' like it?" he said. "I was just gettin' used to it."

"It's not nice to kiss though" I replied. He rubbed with his fingers over the facial hair.

"I'll just let it grow till Christmas, OK? Then I'll shave."

I gave him a shove at his shoulder, and he grinned playfully. He was feeling good right now, everything was going to change. Randall was going to live, Rick would take him far away and send him on his way, we could stay in a warm house for the winter, had good security with the fences. Everything would be good, and that made him happy. Seeing him happy made me feel happy.

The sun was lowering behind the trees, and we almost had all the stuff inside the house, when suddenly, T-dog came running. Daryl, Andrea and Rick were just loading the truck with supplies for Randall, about to leave. I sat next to Carl on the porch.

"Stay here" I told him as I stood up. Rick walked towards T-dog, who was catching his breath.

"What's wrong?" he asked. T-dog pointed towards the small shed.

"He's gone. The kid's gone."

_Ryan_

With every second Merle was gone, I got more nervous. The room was still lighten up by the lamp, but I could feel night was falling. My dream would soon become reality.

I tried to loosen my arms under the tape, but without success. I groaned frustrated. _Why did it take so long?! _

Finally, the door opened, and Merle stepped inside. He looked tired, and angry. I didn't expect any good. He didn't say anything when he closed the door behind him and sat down on the chair, which stood at the same spot where he left it.

He stared at me for a while, with dead eyes, no emotion. I stared back, trying to keep the same concentration as him. He then spit on the ground, just a few inches of my shoe.

"Yeh're a smart son of a bitch" he grumbled. "I hadn't told ma boss about the location, yet."

"So… you'll help me?" I asked carefully. He went with his finger over the blade that was attached to his stump on the other arm.

"I'll guess I'll have to" he said. "We're lucky. Boss's gonna move out tonight. We take our people to….somewhere else. A town, where we can build up our lives again. It's gonna happen tonight, so it's not weird if I'm not around for some time. You, on the other hand…"

"No, you can't leave me here!" I shouted. "I have to go! I know what's gonna happen, I have a plan!"

"Take it easy, I have a plan too" he grumbled. "I just gotta get the car ready."

_Maggie_

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Lori asked, biting her nails nervously.

"Maybe we should go look for them?" T-dog said, looking out the window.

"No, absolutely not!" my dad said while moving the couch a little to make more room on the ground. "Nobody's going out there in the dark alone!"

"But what if something happened?" Carol said, walking around in circles. "What if they got attacked, what if the other group found them?"

"Carol, Hershel's right" Andrea said, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Going out there isn't helping anybody. We just have to stay here and wait…."

Suddenly, the door opened. First I saw a crossbow, and then the rough face of Daryl. Carol sighed relieved. She walked towards him, and put a hand on his shoulder. Daryl seemed a little uncomfortable by the touch, but was too manly to say something about it. He simply nodded, but that seemed to be enough for Carol.

Behind Daryl, I saw a long shotgun, and then his cap. I could cry of happiness to see Glenn standing in the doorway. I wanted to walk towards him, but I remembered what happened this afternoon. He didn't want to share a room with me. I still hadn't figured out why…

He looked at me, and gave me a smile. My heart made a little jump, and I smiled back.

"Where'r the others?" Daryl asked, interrupting our silent hello.

"You haven't seen them?" Lori asked, a little panicked.

"Did you find Randall?" Carol asked. Daryl nodded.

"We did, but he was dead. Walker."

"He was bit?" Andrea questioned disbelieved.

"No, got his neck broken" Daryl replied. Lori stepped towards Daryl, putting a hand on her chest.

"Please, please find them!" she whispered. "They're still out there, we…"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. A knock? A _knock?_ Who would knock on our door, in the night, at the end of the world, at the door of a farm that was 5 miles from the first town?

We all froze. Was it them? Was it the other group? Did they found us?

"Guys! It's me!" a voice shouted. It was a voice we all knew. A voice we had missed for the past one and a half week, a voice that made some stomachs turn around, others excited. And some hearts beat even louder.

Before I could stop her, Beth ran towards the door.


	25. Chapter 25: Saying Goodbye

**FINALLY!**

**I've finished the last chapter for Ryan Blutch for season 2! Of course, I'm continuing, starting with Season 3! I'll try to upload a little prologue for you guys in a week or so, giving me more time to make a plan for the story.**

**Reviews for this season finale are appriciated!**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own the Walking Dead**

_Chapter 25: Saying Goodbye_

_Merle_

I couldn't believe I was actually doing this shit. I drove that damn kid to the farm. What for? So he can save his girlfriend? So he can safe my brother? Well, actually, I was saving my brother. And not for the first time. It must've been the millionth time I saved Daryl's ass. Even when he was a kid, he always got in a shit load of trouble, and I always had to dig him up.

Truth being told, I actually wanted to go there. I wanted to save my bro's ass. He was all the family I had left in this fucked up world. I might not be able to be with him, 'cause once you're with the Governor, you won't ever get rid of him.

The worst thing about this whole rescue-thing, was the fact that I knew this was the right thing to do. It may sound really girly, but fuck you. You don't know anything about living in this world where dead people walk around, governments have fallen, the living are on their own making stupid decisions, civilisation had reached the bottom, and all the other fucked up things. I don't care I started to act like a girl. Seriously, man, you should see Daryl. God damn pussy was starting to care about those people. What did I say again about stupid decisions?

I looked over at the passenger's seat. Ryan was focused on the road. The right side of his face was still purple and wounded, and his eye was barely open. Still, he stared through the front window. This kid had no idea what kind of shit he was getting me into. If I wouldn't be back in an hour, I had a serious issue to deal with. The Governor ain't joking when he asked you to watch the prisoner and transport him to the town. When he figures out I wasn't doing that, I'm practically dead. The Governor is a bitch, but I like his ways. Not like I have a choice. I just can't pack my stuff and leave.

Suddenly, Ryan turned his head. He didn't say anything at first, he was just looking. Almost observing. I gave him a quick look, and focused on the road. I waited for him to say anything, but it stayed quiet. I looked at him again.

"Whut?" I asked. Ryan narrowed his eyes, for as far as that was possible.

"How can you drive with that…thing?" he asked. I snorted.

"I got two hands, idiot" I simply answered. We finally got to the deep woods, and would reach the farm soon. Ryan turned towards the road again. From the outside, you wouldn't say he was nervous, but you could feel the tension.

"Yah ain't pissin' yer pants, are you?" I asked. Surprisingly, he chuckled, as if it was funny.

"Wasn't planning to. How 'bout you?"

"Not wettin' yet." I saw him grin. This fucker was risking his own, and mine, life doing this. He was on a mission to rescue his family of a certain death. And what was he doing? Laughing about bad humour.

With every tree that passed by, my doubts on this thing got bigger. Why did I believe his spooky-paranormal-story? Did I really became that weak?

The sight of a light between the trees, took his breath away.

"You need to stop here" he said. I lifted my eyebrows, and teased him by stamping on the gas paddle once more.

"Dude, pull over, now!" There was this little panic between those words, which made me put the car to a stop.

"What's the matter? Yah got a pissy pants?"

"Dude, that's not even a word" Ryan replied, as he got rid of his seat belt. "This is far enough. The lights you see there, are those from the house. I need to go to the barn first, I need to fix something. I gotta run real fast, 'cause we're exactly at the other end of the fields. The walkers are there too, you know. A lot of them. Not like a dozen, no, like a herd."

"I don't care what yah do," I said, almost sighing. "Jus' get mah bro outta there, an' be back before sunrise. An' seriously, come back."

Ryan had this stupid grinned on his face, as he opened the door. "I gave you my word, remember?"

"I know" I mumbled. Ryan got out of the car, and almost closed the door, as he hunched over.

"Hey, you got a lighter or somethin'?"

I lifted my eyebrows, but didn't ask any questions as I searched through the dashboard.

"Yah want cigarettes too?" I ask sarcastically. "What in tha hell are yah gonna do with it?"

"No thanks, I'm gonna burn this place down" he said, looking at the lights. I handed him the lighter, and he put it in his pocket. "See you in the mornin'."

And then, he was gone. And now, I had to wait 'til he got back. The plan was not to show his lil' friends my face. I also told him I couldn't. If they know I'm alive, they'll start searching for me after. Well, Daryl will. And if Daryl finds the town I'm in now…I didn't know what the Governor would do when Daryl would tell him about his group. Maybe he would let them come to the town, or he would kill them and steal their supplies, which I would do. Daryl would just have to get over it. But after a month and half not seeing him, I didn't know how much officer Friendly and the others meant to him. I bet it was more than just group to him. And I hated the idea.

But I had no choice. I chose the side of the Governor. I'm with men that think the same as me, who do the things I do. They know how this world works, I chose this life. I wasn't regretting it at that point, the wait in the car, but I would be. Oh hell, I was gonna regret it.

_Rick_

I held my son close as we ran towards the closest tree. The walkers, they were here. From the light of the moon, I could see their shadows, moving between the trees. They would soon reach the fields. We were doomed.

"Dad, we have to go to the house!" Carl whispered, his eyes big of all the scares. "We have to get mom and the others!"

I looked at the house, where the lights were still on. I couldn't see if Daryl and Glenn were back yet, and if they were, they would probably go look for me and…him.

"We can't" I whispered. "We might just bring the walkers to the house. We have to distract them, so the others can run."

"How are we going to do that?" Carl asked, panicking. I looked around, frustrated. The closest thing was the barn, but what could we possibly do with….

"Dad, look!" Carl suddenly said, pointing at something behind me. Over the fields, a shadow ran fast over the fields. It was too fast to be a walker. It was definitely alive. Was it….Randall?

"Is that…." I couldn't believe it. How dared he to show his face again? I put my hand on my gun, and started walking towards him. But after a few steps, Carl suddenly grabbed my hand.

"No, dad, wait!" He pulled my arm back. "He's here to help."

"How can you tell?"

His face got pale, as he just said a little too much.

"Carl, what do you know?"

He just pointed at Ryan, who had almost reached us. Ryan quickly looked over his shoulder, cursed, and ran even faster than before. From a quick look, I could see he wasn't carrying a weapon. Not at all. He wasn't carrying anything. One side of his face was completely purple and his eye was almost closed, his shirt was full of dried blood, and his jeans were ripped. He seemed to have gone through hell to get here.

"Rick!" he said, catching his breath as he stood still by the tree. "I'm sorry, I can't explain anything…but you gotta listen to me!"

I only didn't punch him because Carl held my arm against his chest, and was looking at me. I looked over my shoulder, first to him, then to the walkers, who were getting closer every minute. I nodded to Ryan, who sighed, almost relieved.

"First….is Dale really dead?" I was stunned by the question. Where the hell did that come from? With my arm against his chest, I could hear Carl's small heart beat a little faster, and I knew that he was also not expecting this.

"Yes, why do you ask?" I said, with a stone in my throat. Ryan facepalmed himself.

"Fuck…" he mumbled. "OK, long story short; I know what's going to happen tonight. And I know what to do to get us all outta here. First, you need to set the barn on fire."

"What?" I nearly shouted. "What are you talking about?"

"Rick, you have to trust me" he said, with his fingers in the pocket of his jeans. "The fire will attract the walkers, and lead them away from the house. I run towards the house, to warn the others. We then lead them away from the barn, pick you up."

I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated. "How do you know this? How did you know about Dale?"

"No time to explain" Ryan answered, as he stood up. He extended his hand, with a small sliver object on his palm. "There's an oil tank in the back. Get as many as you can in there. I'll try to get the RV as close as possible. Hide in the attic."

I hesitated. Could I trust this guy, this person who held secrets from all of us? The guy who had played us, pretended to be the nice man. The one who left, with no explanation? I always found him one of us, a part of the group. I trusted him, he did so many good things for us. He said he knew what would happen this night, and how he could save us. Was he lying? How did he know about Dale?

"Dad, they're coming closer!" Carl said, his voice trembling. With a sour taste in my mouth, I took the lighter of his hand.

"I'll meet you in fifteen minutes" Ryan said, as he turned around, and started running towards the house.

_Beth_

It was him. I knew it was him. I could feel he was here. The second I heard the door, I knew he had come back. Only he would knock on the door.

Ryan always threw small stones at my window, at night, just like in the movies. I always said he could just come inside, but he was too careful for that.

With all the power I had in my hand, I swung the door open. And there he was. His face was bruised, his clothes bloody and ripped, and he was handsome as always. I stood still, looking, staring, at him. I could cry. I could literally cry.

I jump sky high, my arms around his neck, our bodies against each other. It was nice to feel his wide chest again, his big arms around my waist, the smell of leafs in his clothes. I could hold on to this moment forever, but I knew it had to end. He didn't just came back for me. There was a much bigger thing.

"Please, stay" I whispered in his ear. I heard hesitation in his breath.

"I can't make promises" he whispered back. I let go of him, put both feet on the ground, and looked at him. He planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Get the axe" he whispered. I lifted my eyebrows, scared of the need in his voice. I grabbed his hand, his soft hand, and squeezed it between my fingers. It was hard to let go, but I did. And I ran towards the stairs.

_Daryl_

I snorted, as I looked the man over. "Yah got som' balls ta show yer face here."

He looked at me, not in the mood for jokes. I wasn't really a nice goodbye we had, and he was still pissed about it. I didn't care.

"I know this sounds weird, but you have to trust me" he began. I chuckled. I had seen enough of these scenes to know where this was going. Ryan gave me a dirty look, as he continued.

"Daryl, would you please take a peek outside? You'll probably understand why I'm here."

I wasn't fond of the tone in his voice. It had something of anger, but also fear. I shrugged, hunched over to the window and peeked through the curtains. My heart skipped a beat, as I looked at the walking bodies over the fields, and the barn, who was lighten up with flames. All the walkers were drawn towards the fire, and more kept coming from out of the woods.

I turned to Ryan again. "What do yah wanna do?"

"What the…" T-dog mumbled, and Glenn and Lori looked over his shoulder. Ryan ignored them.

"We need all the vehicles," he started off "all the walkers are going towards the barn, which gives us some space. First, temper the lights. Second, go to the vehicles. Go in pairs, Daryl on his motorcycle, the rest in the cars. I'll take the RV. Rick and Carl are at the barn and…"

"O God!" Lori cried, as she put a hand over her mouth.

"….and if I take the RV, I will be able to get them out before the barn is burned to the ground" Ryan continued, more to Lori than to the rest. "Circle around the fields, kill as many as you can."

There was a silence in the house, everybody considering the plan. It was a weird situation, having a lost member(traitor) of our group back, with a plan to save our lives. I saw Glenn looking to Maggie, who gave him a nod. Jimmy pulled out his hands of the pockets of his jeans, ready to go. T-dog scratched himself at the back of his bald head, let out a sigh, and nodded. Andrea looked at the fire, and put a hand on her handgun. They were going to do this, I realized. They all knew there was no other choice. What chance did we head against thousands of the undead?

From the corner of my eye, I saw Ryan looking at me. He waited for my answer. I glanced at him, putting the crossbow a little tighter on my back.

"Guess it's better than nothin'."

_Glenn_

We all grabbed a gun and ammo. The look on everyone's face, the tension in the room, it made me feel like I was at war. Not that I ever been at one. But it felt like it.

I reloaded the shotgun, put some more in my pocket. I went over to the table, where we had the car keys laying. I grabbed the one of the green Hyundai. As reached out for them, another hand was put on mine. I looked up, and saw Maggie.

She was nervous. Her green eyes were filled with fear, but she kept strong. "I'll drive."

I opened my mouth to say something, but I shut it. Maggie smiled, and grabbed the keys under my hand. I didn't need to tell her to stay here, I knew she wouldn't. She wanted to do this, she wanted to fight for the farm. For her home. With me.

We walked back to the living room, everybody ready to go. We stood in a circle, everybody looking around. Pale faces, big eyes. Ryan was the first one to say something.

"Good luck, everybody" he simply said. Then, the group split up, walking towards several exits to go to the vehicles. I walked towards the kitchen door, as we heard someone coming down the stairs. Ryan stood by the front door, and his face brightened as he saw Beth. Maggie stood still, and I waited for her. She probably wanted to say her sister goodbye.

Beth walked over to Ryan, holding something big in what looked like an old dress. She handed it to Ryan, who unwrapped it. Maggie inhaled of disbelieve. Ryan held his own fire axe. Beth had had it all this time.

Beth turned to her sister, with the same green eyes of innocence. "I just kept it safe for him."

"I'm sorry, Maggie" Ryan quickly said, when Maggie opened her mouth. "I needed it to be safe for when I came back."

"What's so important about it?" Maggie asked, absolutely not fond with this. I heard shouts from outside, and I knew we had to hurry. I walked towards Maggie, stood still next to her.

"We really need to go."

"Where are the others?" Beth asked, looking around.

"They're outside," Ryan answered. "Listen, you need to stay here, OK? Do not leave the house, until there's no other way, you hear me? Do not leave the house."

"What? Why? I don't understand" Beth said, stepping closer to him. I saw Hershel and Lori coming back from the back door, and behind them Patricia and Carol.

"We need to safe the farm, there are….walkers" Ryan explained. Beth looked down, and I knew she had no idea what that meant. I guessed Ryan saw it too. He lifted her chin up with his finger, and looked into her eyes. They stared at each other, before Ryan planted a kiss on her lips.

I felt Maggie grabbed my hand. I looked at her. She was pale, and her hand was cold. She gave me a brave smile. I hated for being awkward. I tried to smile back, but it looked more like a Joker-imitation. Maggie squeezed my hand.

"C'mon people, don' be such pussies!" Daryl shouted from outside. "We ain't got all day!"

Holding hands, we walked to the exit. I turned around, and saw Ryan walk out the front door, leaving Beth behind.

_Jimmy_

"…and give it a twist" Andrea ended her story about how to start up the RV.

"OK, thanks" I said, and looked through the front window. Where the hell was he? We had to go!

Finally, I saw him coming from the front.

"Good luck" Andrea said, as she pat me on my shoulder.

"You too" I said, as she ran towards the blue truck, where T-dog waited for her. Ryan jumped into the RV, and sat down in the passenger's seat. Before he could say anything, we heard gunshots. We both looked through the front window, and saw Glenn hanging out of the green Hyundai with a shotgun, and Daryl circling around on his motorcycle, firing his small gun. The blue truck with Andrea and T-dog soon joined them.

"Man, that's way too many of them!" I said, looking at all the walkers. They were everywhere I looked, walking around in different directions. "How is that possible?"

"The cities are empty" Ryan softly said, "there's no food left. They need to migrate."

"Shouldn't we help them? There's no way they can-"

"No" Ryan said, his voice louder. "We stick to the plan. Get us as close to the barn as possible."

I did as he said and started the engine, by the instructions of Andrea. I almost wanted to step on the breaks, as I saw all the walkers at the barn.

"Are you…are you sure this is-"

"Yes" Ryan said, interrupting me again. "Listen, I know what I'm doing. This is the only way to get us all outta here. We have to get Rick and Carl, run back to the house, and get the others."

"What do you mean, get the others?" I had a slight idea what he was going to say, but I didn't want to believe it. Ryan looked at me, with a sad twinkle in his eyes.

"We can't stay here" he said. "You can't stay here. We won't be able to save the farm."

"What?!" Instead of stepping on the breaks, I kicked the gas paddle.

"Listen, the farm is lost, but we can still save ourselves."

"What are you saying? Have you foreseen all this?" We were nearing the barn, and I was scared for what was about to come over us.

"In some way" Ryan said. "I've seen what happens if we fight back. But if we don't, we can all get outta here and find someplace else. That's why I came back."

I suddenly noticed the fire axe on his lap. He didn't have it when he came into the house. I wanted to say something about it, but then I didn't. I looked at the guy, the guy who basically stole my girlfriend, my fiancé.

"You know, I'm glad you're back" I said, and I meant it. I saw him lift his eyebrows, and smiled.

"I'm glad to be back" he said. He pointed at the left right side of the barn. "Park here. I'll climb up and give them a sign…."

As he got up from his seat, walkers bumped into the front of the RV.

"Holy cow!" I mumbled, holding the hunting rifle close to me. "Make it quick!"

Ryan nodded, and climbed up to the roof. I stood up, and gave him a push to help him up.

"Rick! Carl! Over here!" he shouted. I heard the sheriff answer the call, and Ryan came back into the RV.

"Give me hand here!" he said, kicking with his feet in the air, trying to find a place to stand. I grabbed his legs, and tried to shove a crutch under it, when suddenly, the door opened. I heard moans, groans, saw rotten arms reaching for me, jaws clapping, and dead eyes. I froze out of fear, was not able to move. Before I could shout, three were upon me. Ryan shouted as he fell to the ground.

"Jimmy!" he shouted, as he saw me getting eaten. The first bite, I didn't feel at first. It was in my hand, the second in my shoulder. The second hurt a lot, and I shouted. Another bit my leg, and another grabbed my arm. I shouted out of pain and fear, as I realized what was happening to me.

Ryan grabbed the shotgun, which lay on the ground next to me, and shot the tree on top of me. He then kicked the other two out, and closed the door.

I leaned with my back against the table, my hand on the wound on my shoulder. I cried out of pain, and tried to breath. I felt all the blood flowing through my body, towards the wounds, going out. A pool of red formed around me. It burned, it stung, it hurt. My sight was blurred, I tried to see Ryan. He was holding the door, and grabbed a broom to lock it.

"Ryan…" I sighed. He kneeled down next to me.

"O shit, o crap" he mumbled, looking at the wounds all over my body. He lay the shotgun on the table, and tried to put pressure on the wound in my leg. I heard two loud sounds on the roof, one big and one smaller, and I knew Rick and Carl had made it out of the barn.

I turned to Ryan. I coughed, and tasted blood. The walkers outside were going crazy. They smelled my blood. The dying flesh. I knew this was it. There was no way I could make it out alive.

I put a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Man, you gotta go."

"No, no way!" he said, and I was surprised by the anger, and intensity in his voice. Like he really cared about me.

"Dude, look at me" I said, and coughed again. Ryan shook his head.

"No, we can make it out, I just take you to Hershel."

"No way, man, just….make an end to it" I sighed. I felt weaker and weaker every second, every breath. I could hear my heart beat in my ears, and it was slowing down.

"I'm gonna turn, right?"

Ryan didn't answer, but kept trying to take care of the wound.

"Ryan, the rifle" I whispered. With my bitten hand, I reached for it. It was there somewhere, on the table.

"No way, you're not-"

"Shut up, man! I'm basically dead already!" I said, with more power than I had. I coughed, and wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth. "Just…do it. Make it quick, and get the hell outta here."

He ignored me again. I searched through one of the drawers, for an emergency kit. I grabbed his foot. He looked down.

"Ryan, do it."

He shook his head, but kneeled down. "You're stupid."

"You're dumb."

"I hate you."

"Same here."

I grinned, Ryan didn't. He picked up the rifle of the table, and stood up. He held it up, and aimed.

My life ended with a loud shot, and a splash of blood.

_T-dog_

"Damn" I mumbled, as I saw more and more undead coming from the woods. Andrea hang out the window, trying to shoot as best as she could. I circled around the fields, trying not to hit anyone, dead or alive.

"There's too many of them" Andrea shouted, as she climbed back in the car. "We can't take them."

I avoided a walker that grabbed tried to grab me through the window. "What do you wanna do then?"

"Look," she said, pointing at the house. I saw Hershel, who ran out with a shotgun. The women stood on the veranda, not knowing what to do. The walkers were closing in on them.

"We have to get them out of there."

"Good idea" I said, spinning the wheel and pumping the gas paddle. I saw Carol run first, and then Lori. After her, the blonde girl and the woman called Patricia ran out.

"Stop here" Andrea said, suddenly panicking. She almost jumped out, and ran towards a shed. I saw Carol was closed in by walkers, with her back against the wood. She was crying.

"T-dog!" Lori shouted, and I drove the car closer to her. Walkers were coming closer, and she ran as fast as she could to the truck. I opened the door to let her in.

Suddenly, the blonde woman was grabbed by her hair. A walker bit her, and pulled her to the ground. Two others smelled the blood, and came closer. The blonde girl screamed, and started crying, as she hold the hand of Patricia.

"Beth!" Lori screamed, as the walkers came closer. Before she could reach her, the sound of a skull breaking hold her back. The two walkers lay on the ground, and the third was just about to get his brain splashed by a fire axe.

"Lori, get to the truck, now!" Ryan shouted. The brown haired woman did as he said, and ran towards me. Ryan kicked the walker away from Patricia, away from his girlfriend. The girl had passed out, in shock of the sight of the walkers eating the woman.

Ryan lifted his head up, and looked me in the eyes. "Go, go, go!"

I hesitated, and looked at Lori. Her eyes were full of tears, and her hair was messy. She looked at me, and shook her head.

"We can't leave them!" Suddenly, her eyes widened. "O no, Andrea!"

I looked back at the shed, and saw she had disappeared. I saw her hand under a walker on top of her.

Hands were slammed at the truck, and more walkers came towards us. I saw Ryan holding the girl in his arms, as he started running.

"I'm sorry" I said to Lori, as I pumped the gas paddle.

_Hershel_

I shot one after another. They all needed to go down. They needed to be destroyed. They were on my land, my farm, my home. I wasn't going to give up. Not just yet.

From far away, I heard someone scream my name. It was nothing more than an echo, and it faded away by the loud gunshots. I reloaded, and shot again. Every shot was right. Every bullet was aimed right.

I only focused on the targets. The moving, dead, flesh eating targets. One by one, they fell to the ground. All I could see, was the targets. I couldn't hear anything else. I was in my own mode. The mode where I'm concentrated, and nothing can stop me. I will save my farm, my girls. I will overcome this madness. I will.

I took a few steps back, and reloaded. They were coming closer. The fire in the barn made their shadows long, and made dark silhouettes on the grass. The shadows licked the tip of my shoe.

"C'mon!" I shouted to them. "Get yer ass to here!"

I heard a gunshot behind me, and turned around. A walker fell to the ground, with Rick standing behind it, his gun still smoking.

"Hershel, we have to go!" he shouted. I turned towards the walkers, and ignored him.

"Where's Lori?"

"I don't know!" I said, aiming again.

"Where's mom? Did she make it out?" Carl asked, almost crying.

"I don't know!" I shouted. Why didn't they leave me alone? I had to save my farm, I was in a middle of the fight. I had to save my girls!

"Hershel, we have to get outta here!" Rick said. "The farm is lost!"

"No, it's not!" I said, firing another shot. "We can still save it, we can-"

"No, Hershel! We can't!" Rick spit the words in my face. I was shocked. I was stunned. I was insulted. But I finally realized how hopeless this was. I looked at the fire in the barn, the walkers closing in towards the house. It was hopeless.

With tears in my eyes, I prayed. I prayed to God, to ask Him for help, support, bravery. I needed that. I asked Him to look over my daughters, where they may be. I asked Him to take good care of my son and my wife in heaven. I was going to leave they rest place, there was no one to watch over them. I hoped He had heard my prayers.

I looked at my fields, the place I called home for so many years. In that tree, Beth used to climb up to the top. Maggie would look for her for hours, and sometimes she pretended to go looking for her in the woods, riding one of the horses. Actually, she just wanted to take a ride. At the other side of the field, Josephine used to seed flowers, and make the most beautiful creations. She and Patricia could sit down in the kitchen for hours, making bouquets. I smiled at the small shed, where Shawn used to play with one of Otis's hunting rifles. Shawn always wanted to hunt. He often went out with Otis. They didn't shoot the animals, though, they just looked at them. Sometimes, they practised, with bottles, or cans. Shawn was a good shooter.

I smiled at all the memories of this place. It was time to go. I lay a hand on Rick's shoulder. "Get to the car."

_Andrea_

I waved with my arms in the air.

"Rick! Rick!" I shouted. The walkers turned towards me, curiously. It was more of them than you could ever imagine. I panicked, and walked in a circle, thinking what to do now. I almost tripped over the gun of bags, which lay on the ground. I grabbed it, hung it over my shoulder, and started running to the woods.

It was my only way out. My only chance of getting outta there alive. I heard gunshots from somewhere else, and knew the others were also out there. I tried to find out where the shots came from, but the sounds echoed too much to really place them. I just ran and ran, ignoring the pain in my legs, the need for air in my chest, and the stings in my stomach. The moans and groans behind me motivated me to keep pushing. I couldn't stop. If I did, I would die.

I saw something weird between the trees. A dark object, big. I looked over my shoulder, and saw I didn't have a lot of space between me and the undead. I ran straight towards the thing between the trees, and as I got closer, I could see it was a car. Someone sat in it, at the wheel. It was a man.

I hid behind a bush, quickly looking over my shoulder where the walkers would be. I saw the man searching for something in the car. He seemed to have found it, 'cause he sat up.

From the light of the moon, I could see him put a bottle against his mouth. Alcohol. Whiskey, to be exactly. I could only see a silhouette of the figure in the car, but suddenly, he rolled the window down. He hang his arm out, with the bottle. His left arm….wasn't even an arm.

What? What was it? It seemed to be some kind of knife….

The man hung his head out the window, to glance at the moon. The recognition mad my heart skip a beat. No, that's not possible. It can't be. No way. How did he….

Merle Dixon hadn't seen me yet, and I stayed where I was. If we saw each other, it won't be a good reunite. I was one of the people that left him on a building in the middle of Atlanta, surrounded by walkers. He should be dead. How did he get out?

The trees behind the car shook. Leafs were pushed aside, and another person came into the light of the moon. My jaw dropped, as I saw Ryan holding an unconscious Beth in his arms. He ran towards the car.

"What tha hell, man?!" Merle shouted. "This ain't part of tha plan!"

He roughly opened the door, as Ryan softly put Beth in the backseat of the car.

"We can't take her with us, you fucker!" Merle said, as he gave Ryan a shove. "We're late already!"

"I couldn't leave her, not like this!" Ryan shouted back, his voice full of exhaustion and anger. "I couldn't let someone else die!"

"What do yah mean?" Merle suddenly asked, his voice softer. "Daryl…."

"He's fine, your brother is fine" Ryan mumbled, as he kneeled down by Beth. "She lost her nanny, or whatever she was, someone close. I had to take her down."

"Nice goin'" Merle mumbled back, kicking his feet against the car. I heard some footsteps coming from behind me, and a loud growl.

"Shit" I whispered to myself. Merle turned his head to where I sat, and I froze. I stared back, between the leafs of the bush. Did he see me or what?

"Now, what do we do?" Merle said, still staring at me.

"We….we go to the high way" Ryan sighed, grabbing his fire axe with both hands. "The others will be there and-"

"Wow, hey, that ain't the plan" Merle said, turning his head. Finally. "We only drove her to save yer lil' friends, and that's done. We can't stick around."

"You just said we can't take her with us, and I know" Ryan said, resting the axe on his shoulder like he always did. "We need to bring her back to her family. That's all I want to do."

"Ryan?" Beth's voice called from the car. "Is that you? What happened?"

"Now we're in shit" Merle grumbled, bringing the bottle to his lips again. Ryan kneeled down and helped Beth up.

"Yes, it's me. You're safe now."

"Where's….Patricia?" she asked. I felt my heart sting a little by the memory of the blonde woman being eaten. Ryan seemed to have a hard time to, clearing his throat.

"She's….she's…she's gone" he said eventually. Beth let out a cry, and put her arms around Ryan's neck. She buried her face into his shoulder, and let out a sob.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" Ryan said, rubbing her back softly. I saw Merle roll his eyes, as he leaned against the front of the car. I wanted to wait and see more, but I suddenly felt fingers grabbing my hair. I turned around, and tried not to scream as a walker fell on top of me. It growled loudly, and I heard Beth shout. I kept the walker of me by pushing his shoulders away, but his rotten face got closer and closer. I tried to get my leg away from under his body, and gave him a kick in the stomach. The walker rolled away from me, against a tree.

I turned my head, to see Merle start the engine, and Ryan jump into the car.

From the backseat, he held Beth in his arms, and he looked out the window. I looked back, and saw his eyes widen.

The walker stood up, and reached out for me. I grabbed my knife from my belt, and pushed the walker with his back against the tree, as I planted the knife into its skull. It let out a last growl, before falling down the ground. I looked behind the tree, to see more shadows coming towards me. I turned around, and watched as the car drove away from me, disappearing in the darkness. Above the trees, I could see the sky turning red. It would be light soon, and then I would be seen easier. But I would see them too.

I put the bag over my shoulder, and started running again. It wouldn't be safe to take the road, so I prepared myself to go into the wilderness again.

_Ryan_

I ran my fingers through her soft, blonde hair. She wasn't crying anymore. Instead, she just stared into nothing.

"And Maggie? Did she make it?" she asked. I put my cheek on top of her head that was leaning against my chest.

"She was with Glenn, they made it out."

"My dad?"

"I….I don't know." She had been asking about the group all the way, and I still waited for that one name. I knew she would ask about him, and I knew I wouldn't be able to answer it right.

"Jimmy?" There it was. I swallowed a stone away from my throat, and bit my lip, fighting the tears. The picture of the young man, bleeding out, asking me to kill him, it was the only thing in my head. I sniffed my nose.

"He…he asked me to do it" I said, blinking my eyes. Beth sat up, looking me in the eyes.

"Did you?"

I nodded. Beth gave me soft kiss on my cheek, seeing me fight the emotions.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered. Our hands found each other, and we held them like one. For a time we said nothing. Merle just drove further and further, coming closer to the high way every second. He kept looking at the front mirror, with an angry look. We were both in big trouble, and we both knew it.

"You are gonna leave again, don't you?" Beth asked, pulling me back into the real world.

"Yes" I simply answered. Lying wasn't an option anymore.

"Will you come back?" she asked, quickly looking at Merle, then back at me.

"I…I don't know." I ignored Merles chuckling.

"Can you try?" Beth asked.

"If it's meant to be, we'll find each other again."

"Man, I'm hearin' Jesus Christ talking here!" Merle said, chuckling. "Ain't nothin' as 'meant to be', mista."

Merle stopped the car. Beth looked at me, with fear in her eyes.

"We're here" I said. I opened the door, still holding hands with her, and helped her out. I hear Merle grumble something about stupid teenagers, and Beth somehow giggled a little. The sound of that gave me a warm feeling in my chest. It also made me realize it might be the last time I would hear that.

We stood still in front of a hill, with above us the high way. We could hear voices. Rick, Carl, Hershel. Beth let out a sigh of relieve by hearing her father.

"He made it" she whispered. She grabbed both my hands, and stood still in front of me. The warm feeling in my chest faded away, as I realized this was a goodbye.

"So, this is it, uh?" I said, looking her in the eyes. She sadly nodded.

"I guess so." She turned her head towards Merle. "Is he your friend?"

"No, not at all" I quickly said. "He's one of the men that captured me….Long story."

Beth lifted her eyebrows, looking in a different way at Merle. "Why is he helping you?"

"Well, uhm…he's, well, he's Daryl's brother."

"The crossbow man?"

"Yep."

The sound of a car sounded above us. And another, and another, and then the sound of a motorcycle. I saw Merle lift his head, and he grinned. His little brother made it.

"They're all here" I said. Beth nodded. Even though we knew each other pretty well, we still had our awkward situations. We both didn't know how to say goodbye.

Beth smiled by hearing the voice of her sister. I grinned when I heard T-dog let out a laugh, and Carl who reunited with his mother. I missed them, I missed them already.

"Crap" I whispered, as I sniffed my nose. I was literally an emotional wrack. Beth suddenly let out a sob too.

"I'm sorry" she said, laughing.

"Me too" I said. Suddenly, as if someone gave me a push, I planted my lips on hers. She kissed me back. Our tears met each other at the tip of our chins. I put my arms around her waist, and she put hers around my neck. We seemed to be one person, melting together. I felt her heartbeat, happily.

When we let go, we looked in each other's eyes. I wiped the tears of her cheeks, and gave her a kiss on her nose.

I then took a step back. Without saying anything else, I walked back to the car. I grabbed my fire axe, and gave it to her. Her eyes asked me why I gave it.

"I won't be there to protect you" I explained. "Molly is a nice weapon, you just need to get used to her."

She laughed at the little joke I made a few weeks ago, when she told me she was engaged to Jimmy.

"I'm sure we'll become close friends" she said. Our fingers touched each other one more time, before I walked back to the car, for real. I waited, and watched her walk up the hill. I heard surprised voices, cries of happiness.

"We've waited for long enough" Merle said, annoyed. "Get yer shit together, man. Wonderland is gone."

I stepped in the car, at the passenger's seat. "I know, time to go to Narnia."

"Well, it's called Woodbury, actually" Merle answered, before planting his fist in face. I slammed with my head against the window. He then grabbed me by my hair, and slammed my forehead against the dashboard.

"That's what you get for running off" Merle grinned.

"What the hell?" I said, with my fingers against my bleeding nose.

"We need a little excuse," Merle said, still with that grin on his face. "I thought, let's be creative."

"Fuck you" I mumbled, as he held up his fist to punch me again.


	26. Sneak peek

**Hey hey!**

**As promised, I have for you guys a little prologue/sneak peek of the story of Ryan Blutch. I'm working on the second part, which means season 3 of The Walking Dead. **

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead)**

**Enjoy;)**

_Sneak peek Ryan Blutch; Season 3 of The Walking Dead_

I blinked my eyes and sat up in the chair. I bobbled my head, trying to make my neck less painful. It was my 60th night in Woodbury. Well, not exactly the town itself. I've been locked up in some kind of underground laboratory. I get food two times a day, and there's always a guard by the door. I guess prison wasn't that bad, compared to this. Since Merle's brilliant story of me escaping, with a lot of untrue details, they assumed I must be very dangerous. I've seen the Governor guy once. He's…charming, and that's probably why he's so creepy. He seduces a lot of people into the town, if I believe the stories Merle told me. He gave me a little introduction, before we arrived at the gate.

I've never seen the town. I could only hear it. I could hear people chatting, walking, laughing. It really sounded like a normal town. But those poor people have no idea what's going on behind the scenes.

I sighed, and stared at the papers in front of me. All the books about viruses and the human body they had here. I overheard a conversation from outside from two women who were talking about a set-up for a library. I'll guessed I would never see that.

The words danced in front of my eyes. I couldn't concentrate. I was too tired. And all my thoughts kept on going somewhere else. I often thought about them. About her. Where was she? Was she save? Where they all still alive? Did they find a new place?

I kept seeing her green eyes, her funny nose, her pink lips. Her soft smile, that always made my hair jump. But every day I thought about her, the picture faded a little. I was starting to forget what she looked like. It scared me, and I sometimes woke up in the middle of the night, trying to sketch her face on paper. It never looked so beautiful as she was in real life. I was surrounded by pieces of paper torn apart. It wasn't like her. She wasn't here.

I came back to the real world as the door was opened. I turned around in the chair, trying to move with my feet locked in chains. Yes, they're taking it very seriously. In the doorway, stood a man, with glasses, brown hair and a spencer. He looked like a standard nerd, some algebra geek.

He thanked the guard, before he stepped inside. "Hello, my name is Milton."

I lifted my eyebrows. He seemed to be…..scared of me. Of course, I'm that one dangerous person that made the world turn into a game of life and death, but then expert edition.

"You must be Ryan" Milton said, stepping forward. I chuckled.

"Well, yeah, I don't see anyone else chained to a chair in a basement laboratory."

"Of course" Milton said, nervously. I then noticed the thick books he held in his hands. He saw me looking at them, and quickly put them on the table. "It's my research on the biters. I thought it might help you."

I wanted to tell him that it wasn't going to help me at all, when I realized I didn't know that much about the walkers. I may have started the creation of the virus, but others have helped it evolve to what it was now. I practically knew just as much as other people around.

"Thanks" I said, taking the books of the table. "I'll check it out."


	27. Chapter 26: A New Day

**Aaaaaand here it is!**

**Chapter 26, people! We still have to wait one week for the fourth season of TWD, but for now, you can enjoy the first chapter of TWD season 3, involving the OC Ryan Blutch.**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead)**

**Enjoy;)**

_Chapter 26: A New Day_

_Beth_

I sat up straight in my bed, almost bursting my head into the ceiling. My hair was wet of all the sweat, all over my body. My hands were cold, just as my heart.

I inhaled deeply, trying to calm my beating heart. It was another nightmare. Even after all these months, seven or eight, I still relived that one night we lost the farm. The fire, the shadows, the screams, the gunshots, the blood. I only relived that one moment, where I lost Patricia. I still hold her hand when she was being eaten alive. I watched her die…

I blinked the tears away. I only relived that one moment, and not what happened after. But I knew that if I stayed asleep, that moment would come as well. I could remember his face, only when I closed my eyes. I remembered his voice, when I lay my hands over my ears.

I swung my legs over the edge of the top bed. Beneath me, my father slept peacefully, snoring a little. He was tired after the long days of fighting, looking over his shoulder, keeping watch, staying alive. But now, we finally had a place to stay; the prison.

I softly jumped down, on my bare feet. I needed some air. The dusty cell made my throat sour. It was hot inside the stone walls of the cellblock. It was summer already. The winter was a hard, long time. The nights were cold and dark, the snow making our world look like one big Siberia. Spring was warm, and summer was hot.

I walked out of the cell, and almost let out a scream when I spotted Rick. He was sitting with his back against the wall, asleep. Even he slept this night. We were all tired, after the long invasion of the prison. Even though it only took an hour to get inside, and another hour to get the cellblock, we all went to bed after. The beds weren't so bad. But I guessed Rick preferred the cold floor. He probably wanted to stay as look out, for any walkers or something.

The next day, he would try to find the cafeteria. We were pretty low on food, let's say we don't have anything left.

I sighed softly, and put my hands over my eyes. I didn't want to think about this. We were safe for now, still alive. I didn't want to think about my hollow stomach that screamed for food. Every time, I had a feeling like this, like nothing makes me happy anymore, I think about him. I know he's not here, I know it's possible that he's dead, I know he left. But when I think of him, there's a strange feeling of calm wrapping around me. Like a blanket.

I walked towards the exit of the cellblock. It didn't seem right to open the door, 'cause of the sound, and the walkers that were still outside. Instead, I looked through the small window. A hole with bars, to be exactly. Through it, I could see the moon. The stars surrounding him, were only small candle compared to this big lantern. When I looked at it, I remembered the nights were I sneaked out of the house to meet him. We used to walk over the fields, talk softly, telling stories. He told me several legends about the moon. About the werewolves, the fairies of water, all that kind of stuff. He used to read about it when he was a kid. He wanted to be a wizard when he grew up.

I stared at the moon, with a smile on my face. Was he thinking of me right now? Was he looking at the moon too? Was he still alive?

I only had one thing of him. One object that belonged to him. I still keep it close, I use it as a weapon. He gave it to me, asked me to keep it safe. It's in the cell, standing next to the doorway. The dried up blood of the many walker skulls made it look like a part of an Halloween costume. It was a good weapon. Everybody used it. To chop wood, to chop walkers. To everyone else, it was just an axe. To me, it was a part of him he left behind.

_Rick_

I looked at all their faces. All of them were serious, no sign of emotion. Pure concentration. I looked at the faces which were created by this new cruel world we lived in. Eyes which have seen death itself, blood, pain. They were fighters. All of them. Every single one of them was willing to sacrifice their life for the other. We were not just a group, we were a family.

The past two days, we had tried to get the best for our family. I tried. We now had a safe house, a place we may call home someday. But before we got there, we had to explore our home.

Today, the part of the bravest volunteered to go with me. Daryl, of course, Glenn, Maggie, T-dog and Hershel. It was still morning, and we had a small breakfast. Though our stomachs still felt hollow, we were ready. Focused.

I watched them all say goodbye. Maggie to her sister, Hershel to his youngest daughter, Daryl who gave Carol a slight nod with a grin on his face, Glenn who poked Carl and wished him good luck, T-dog who closed his eyes and softly prayed. I gave them the time they needed. When we were all ready, I gave my son a nod. He answered it with a slight smile under the shadow of his hat.

Beth walked up to me, after hugging her father. She held something in her arms. The axe. Without saying a word, she extended it to me. I looked at it, and gave her a questioning look. She still didn't say anything. So I took it. The strong wood of the axe felt good in my hand. The balance was perfect, and it sure was an amazing weapon against walkers. I lifted it with my hands, getting the feeling. I tried not to think about the owner. The weird guy who seemed so good to us, so helpful. Then disappearing without letting anyone know. And then, when shit came down, he showed up to save our asses again. It was a weird and heroic story, especially 'cause I thought my son had a little part in it. That night, when we stood close to the barn, under a tree, walkers coming closer every minute, and Ryan hold me the lighter. Carl begged me to take it, begged me to trust him. I didn't know why. I still didn't know. I looked at the axe in my hand, and asked myself again; how did Ryan know? I promised myself that when I came back, I would ask my son about it. Too many secrets, that's what gets you killed.

I looked at Beth. Her green eyes looked back at me. They were full of fear, and love. She was giving this to me for a reason. Another secret I didn't know about.

The romance between Beth and Ryan fascinated me. Their strange love story made me think of the storyline of a bad written fanfiction. And sometimes….

I looked up, and captured the brown, deep eyes of my wife. She looked back, a little scared. I never looked at her, and when I did, I was angry at her. But now, it was different. And she felt it. She gave me a slight smile, which I didn't answer.

I looked over the group. They were more than ready. Without any sign, I opened the door to the dark halls of the prison. We held our flashlights in front of us, and stepped into the darkness.

I heard Carl close the gate of the cellblock, a last sound ensuring me the rest was safe. T-dog closed the door behind him, and we were alone. We moved forward, as one. We stayed in formation, like we did a thousand times before. We moved forward, when we came to the first corner. Glenn sprayed a white arrow on the dusty wall, marking our way back. We moved further and further, without talking. I held the axe in one hand, a flashlight in the other. The only sound came from our feet slipping over the floor. Then we came to a crossing.

"Which way?" Glenn asked whispering. I pointed at the right, and he marked the wall. That's when I heard it. Footsteps. Then, there were shadows. They were coming.

_Carl_

When I had turned the key in the lock, I knew this day wasn't going to end well. I had this feeling crawling up my back, a cold rush. When I turned around, I saw the rest of the group standing still, staring at me. Like they were waiting for me to say something. I didn't know why they did. Me having the keys didn't mean I'm the boss….Did it?

"So…" I started. The remaining group was all feminine. It felt kinda awkward me demanding them. "I guess we can start to clean this place up."

"Good idea" my mom said with a smile. "Let's go find the stuff for that."

"I think I saw the closet of the janitor when we came in yesterday" Carol said. "It's close to the exit, but there's a lock on it. You think you have the key to that?"

"Probably" I said looking at the ring with at least thirty different keys on it. "We'll find out."

I walked towards the exit that lead outside, and saw the door Carol mentioned. I started trying every key on the lock, looking for the right one.

_Great, now I'm gonna clean all day. Seriously, don't I have better things to do? _

I sighed, and tried another key. Nope. I guess it's important for us to get this place clean. With all the bacteria…that's certainly not good for the baby. My mom could go into labour every day now. And it was creeping me out. She told me I was born with a C-section or something, which means there was a doctor involved. No offence, but Hershel wasn't a real doctor. And there could always go something wrong. What if the baby…dies? What will happen then? If my mom's infected, then the baby…

I shook my head, trying to scare the thoughts away. I had walked around with these ever since her belly started getting bigger. I started to realize what was happening to her. I started thinking about the possibilities, the risks. I lay in my bed with eyes open, not able to sleep. Maybe I was going crazy. Wouldn't be a real surprise, after losing so many people.

I stop moving. I have to swallow a few times, trying to keep strong. I don't want to think about this either. The ones we've lost. I lost friends, family, allays. Before I know what I'm doing, my hand goes to the side pocket of my pants. In my fingers, I held the small bottle. After all those months, the liquid in it still had the same grey colour. He just asked me to keep it safe, don't let anyone get it except for him. Keep it away from the people that captured him. Where was he now? Was he even alive? Should I still be keeping this?

I knew my dad had questions. I mean, I almost fell on my knees asking him to trust Ryan when he came to help. My dad was curious, he didn't trust it. I guess he would've want to ask about it a thousand times, but he never did.

Today, I had seen that look again. He was going to question me soon.

"What's taking you so long?" Beth asked as she walked up to me. I quickly hid the bottle in my pocket. She didn't know about it, and probably shouldn't tell her. Ryan trusted me with this, trusted me to keep it a secret. So I would.

"You OK?" she asked, suddenly worried. Even though she was older, I felt my ears turned a little red when she softly put her hand on my back. "Have you find the key?"

"Uh, no, still looking" I said, searching through the keys again. Somehow, I seemed to have found the right one this time. With a soft 'click' the door opened.

What we expected, was a bunch of brooms and cleaning stuff, instead, we got a big shadow. The next, I saw rotten arms reaching out for me, and I quickly grabbed my gun from my belt. The walker grabbed my shoulders, and pushed me against the wall. Beth let out a scream, and stepped back. I tried to push the walker of me, but it was very strong.

I heard footsteps, and saw Carol and my mom running out of the cellblock. Slowly, I managed to get my arm up, and put the gun on his chin. I pulled the trigger, and a splash of cold blood splattered on my cheek. With a soft sound, the body fell on the ground. The back of the skull was exploded, and it let out a last growl.

"Oh, honey, are you OK?" my mom asked, panicking. She walked towards me, and held my face in her hands.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. We found the stuff."

_Michonne_

My friendship with Andrea was a strange one. In all ways, it was ordinary. Beginning with the way we met. She was running through the woods, lost, haunted by the dead and low on ammo. I saved her life, she saved mine. We decided we were a good team, and travelled together. She told me about her group, and a farm not far from where we were. She wanted to go back, I didn't. Too dangerous. But the begging look in her eyes, made me think otherwise.

When we arrived at the farmhouse, I knew it was going to break her heart. The place was burned to the ground, bodies everywhere, walker crawling around. The people were gone. We found two of them, a woman and a teenage boy. Both eaten till the bone.

Andrea didn't speak that night. She did eat, she slept, but kept her mouth shut. Not knowing this woman very well, I didn't know what to do. I saw her constantly looking at the two walkers I used as….camouflage. She didn't say anything, she just stared.

Eventually, I couldn't take it. I started telling her about my boyfriend, whom I lost several months ago. I told her how I got over it, and it seemed to have helped her. The next day, she started telling me things about her group, and came to the conclusion that maybe some of them made it out alive. That they were still out there.

I told her that looking for them wasn't going to work, and she got angry with me. We had a fight, and both went to sleep with a bad feeling. In the morning, everything was back to normal. I just spread out a map, and told her where I was heading too. She said she wanted to come with me, and that's how it went. All winter we travelled together, had each other's backs, laughed, talked. It was an ordinary friendship, as I said. We both knew that the argument about Andrea's group was still hanging in the air, but we both didn't say anything about it.

We took care of each other through the winter, and spring was coming up now. But one day, Andrea woke up, vomiting. It scared me to see her sick. The strong woman, my friend, my allay. I tried everything to make her better, but now, she was still slipping her feet over the ground, holding a blanket over her shoulders, coughing every now and then.

I walked behind her, with our camouflage on chains. We didn't talk when we were walking. We may had camouflage against the walkers, but that didn't mean we were invisible.

Suddenly, Andrea stood still. She looked at something, far away. I went to stand next to her, and follow her eyes. What I saw, was smoke. Black smoke, coming up above the trees. I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out what it could be. It was too big to be a campfire, and too small to be a building on fire. It somehow made me think of a car, that crashed into something.

Before even looking at me, Andrea started walking towards the smoke. I looked at her, and got a hold of the chains. With one pull, I told the walkers to follow me. I ignored the other two, who were nearing us. Sound was what attracted them. First the sound, then the smell. By keeping a move on, the part of smelling us was delayed.

I followed Andrea over the field, towards the trees, and towards the strange smoke.

_Maggie_

I couldn't believe this was happening. After all the good things that happened to us, after all the luck we had. It was too good to be true. I should've known something bad was about to happen. We were out of luck.

I stared at the stump at my father's leg. Blood was pouring out of the wound, as Carol and Lori desperately tried to stop the bleeding. They were out of towels. My father's face was pale, and his breathing was slowing down.

All I could do was stand still and stare, feeling the tears dripping down my chin. I heard the cries of my sister, panicking at the sight of her father. Carl tried to get a hold on her, but she pushed his arm away, and run into another cell.

What were we going to do? What were we supposed to do? What would happen if he dies? What would happen to us? If he dies, we're all alone. Then it's just me and my sister. Why is this happening?

Beth doesn't deserve this. She has lost too many people already. If he dies, her heart breaks. She will go into shock again, a coma, and this time it will be permanently. She won't survive this if he won't.

Glenn said things to me, but I didn't hear him. I just looked at him, and buried myself in his arms. '

"What are we gonna do without him?" I whispered in his ear. He let go of me, hold my shoulders, and looked me in the eyes.

"Stop, OK, stop" he said, with a soft voice. "He's not going to die."

"But what if he does?"

"He won't."

"Am I the only one living in reality?" I asked, tears taking control over my voice. Glenn rubbed his thumb over my cheek, and planted a soft kiss on my lips.

"He's gonna be OK, I promise."

I sniffed my nose, and he hold me in his arms again, comforting me. I inhaled the smell he carried. Sweat, blood, and Glenn. Especially the last part was nice. I liked that one the most. I closed my eyes, and relaxed my head on his shoulder, putting strength of his body. I felt better when he let go of me. He smiled, and I smiled back.

"Go check on Beth, OK?"

"Yeah" I said, wiping the tears of my cheeks. He went back to Lori and Carol, and I walked towards the cell I saw Beth disappear in. I expected her to lay on the ground crying her eyes out, but instead, she was ripping my father's pants apart.

"What are you doing?"

She looked up, her green eyes innocent. "He's gonna have a hard time walking around with one leg."

"Beth, stop. He's not gonna walk again."

Her green eyes turned into fire. "Don't say that!"

"We have to think about the possibility…"

"He's not going to die! He's not!"

"Beth, just…"

"No!" She ripped another piece of, and lay the pants down with the others.

_Andrea_

We kneeled down behind some bushes. Through the leafs, we could see what caused all the smoke. There was a helicopter, crushed into the ground. From the propellers, black smoke rose up.

Michonne went to check it out, and there were bodies everywhere. Military men, probably scouting the area.

I somehow felt a grin on my face. It made me think of the time I met Rick. I was on a supply run with others of our group. Rick was shooting around, attracting all the walkers in the area to the centre of the city. He said he was following a helicopter. We all thought he was crazy.

By the sight of this crashed thing, I felt guilt and a little amused. If Rick was still alive, and if I ever saw him again, I would tell him about it.

"Get down!" Michonne suddenly said. I kneeled down, close to the ground. Without any warning a strange smell flew through the air, turning my stomach upside down. I swallowed the vomit away, and watched what was happening.

A car stopped, close to the aircraft. Men stepped out, with both guns and melee weapons. One of them even had a bow and arrows. I grinned again by the idea that Daryl would have called him a pussy. He always said a bow and arrows were for weak people who didn't have the strength to walk around with a crossbow all day. And he was also very mad about the fact that Ryan once called him Robin Hood.

I softly coughed, and Michonne rubbed my back. I looked at the men, and saw them inspecting the helicopter. The smell was getting even more worse, and I vomited on the ground in front of me.

"Shh…" Michonne said, grabbing her katana. She hold it close, ready for action. Suddennly, the walkers on chains started to move around. They were grumbling softly, and I saw one of the men turning his head. I hold my breath, my heart beating in my ears. What would happen if they saw us?

With one quick move, Michonne sliced the skulls in half. After a few seconds, the man turned his head away, and I exhaled softly. Michonne did the same, and wanted to put her sword away, but a manly voice stopped.

"Ah, not so fast." The voice made me feel even more sick. "Slowly turn around."

I froze. I knew this voice too well than was good for me. I didn't need to see his face to believe it. It was him.

He lifted his eyebrows in recognition. "Oh, hooooly shit. Blondie. You look….good."

A walker snuck up behind him, and without looking, he pinned its chin on the knife that was attached to the stump on his arm.

After that, I passed out. The last thought I had, was that if Merle was here, Ryan was there too.


	28. Chapter 27: Prisoner

**Hey!**

**I'm really dying, just three more days till season 4! I'm soooooo excited! I get goosebumps every time I watch the trailer again. **

**Season 4 is about to start, and Ryan is about to start the third season. Another chapter full of mystery, sadness, guilt and anger. Feedback Always appreciated!**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own the Walking Dead)**

**Enjoy!;)**

_Chapter 27: Prisoner_

_Beth_

I ripped another stroke of the pants, and put it with the others. They were piling up next to me, but I didn't care. I had to keep myself busy, occupied. I didn't like the empty feeling in my chest at the moment. I tried to keep my thoughts at the straight line the pants should have. I needed to rip the end off, but it should still look like it was meant to be this way.

My heart dropped, as I saw just ripped the last pants. There were none to do. I was done. I had nothing to do. Nothing to keep my thoughts somewhere else.

I sat there, in the cell, on my knees. Maggie was in the cell next door. I heard them softly talking. Something about medicine they needed, a possible internal bleeding…things I didn't want to hear.

I bit my lip, fighting against the tears. Why? Please, tell me, why? I looked up to the ceiling, trying to look through it. Trying to see the sky, the clouds, the sun. I tried to fly, far beyond them, beyond the stars, beyond space. I wanted to look at the place where He might be. I wanted to find him, ask him. I wanted to know; why him?

I heard the gate of the cell open.

"Food's here!" T-dog shouted, not sounding very happy. I heard Carl run from the other cell, with the keys tinkling against his belt.

"What did you get?" he asked curiously. I suddenly felt the hollow gap that used to be my stomach, and stood up. I was almost used to the feeling of hunger. I stepped out the cell, to see T-dog and Rick come in with hands full of bags and boxes.

"Canned beef, canned corn, canned canned" T-dog answered Carl. "There's a lot more where this came from."

I stared at the boxes full of canned food, and felt my heart jump a little. I loved cooking. Now we didn't have the ideal kitchen, it didn't change the way the food tasted.

I tried to ignore the conversation between Lori, Glenn and Rick, Lori summing up the things that were wrong with my dad. I tried not to be scared when Rick asked Glenn to put his handcuffs on my dad. I knew what that meant; Rick didn't believe he was going to make it. He thought he was going to die. And if he does….

I softly let out a sob, and walked passed them to the cell, to the bed where my father lay. I accidently overheard some words between Rick and Lori, who were standing under the stairs.

"What about the other prisoners?" Lori asked. Other prisoners? There were inmates in here? In the same building? I tried not to panic.

"We help them clear out another cellblock" Rick answered. What the hell? Was he mad? "Then we'll be here, they'll be there."

"Living beside each other?" Lori said, clearly not liking the idea.

"I'm not giving up this prison" Rick said, also not fond of it.

"Do they have guns?" Lori asked, reading my mind.

"I saw one…" Lori took a breath on that one. It scared me too. Rick sighed. "I don't know if it's gonna work.

"What are your options?" Lori asked, crossing her arms. Rick took a breath, looked at the ground. I knew that face. Being around this man every day, taught you what expressions meant. This was a bad one. The one where he had to do something which he didn't like.

"Kill them."

Somehow, the two words triggered something in me. As if a secret part of my brain started functioning at this exact moment. Why didn't I thought of this before?! I finally remembered something really important, a fact that I forgot long ago. A mystery I needed to solve.

I walked out the cell, back to the one where I slept. I felt Carol was looking at me, worried. Maggie lay a hand on my shoulder before I left. I smiled quickly at her.

I sat down on the lower bed. I did not know why I had to remember this at this exact moment. The thing I knew, the thing we all knew but forgot, because we never spoke of it, was this; Ryan went to prison. Ryan went to prison, and escaped when it all happened. It could be an coincidence. Or not. Maybe he was kept here. Maybe he was one of the inmates. Maybe he stayed in this cellblock, right here.

I looked at the mattress I sat on. Ryan never told me much about his time in here. Every time I asked him about it, he said it was not a happy place. That if there was a hell, this would be between that and heaven. Prison was the only way for him to stay alive. By accusing him of murder, the government was smart and stupid. The smart thing was, that they got Ryan faster than without it. But by using the people, they also asked for a trial. They could absolutely not kill Ryan. He destroyed every research he did, and their only source to it was Ryan himself. He had it all in his head. He was to valuable. But with the public knowing about him even existing, and the long trial that was going on, they couldn't keep him themselves. So he stayed in prison, on a special ward. He was the safest here.

It may be was a long shot. Ryan told me he stayed in a prison in Georgia, but not which one. I didn't even know how many there were in this state. But what if it was this one?

I started tipping with my fingers on my knee. I realized I didn't know as much about him as I thought. Sure, I knew where he lived before, what job he had, what his favourite food was. But never about his past. Yeah, living in Idaho, and go studying at some University here, but that was it.

I got curious. I really wanted to know about him. And if he stayed in here, I would find out more about him. If those prisoners are real survivors, they may know him. They may tell me about him. Tell me things I don't know.

Rick said he was going to kill them if it wasn't going to work out with the other cellblock. If it would, I had a chance to speak to them. But how was I gonna reach them? I sure as hell wasn't going alone.

Suddenly, a shadow walked past the cell I sat in. A figure with a hat, carrying a bag that seemed heavy.

I heard gasping from next door, and quickly got out of the cell. I stood still behind Carl, and he stepped aside to show me what he brought. A bag full of medical supplies.

_Andrea_

The night was a blur to me. I remembered riding in a car with something over my eyes, waking up in something what seemed to be a hospitality, a doctor giving me a needle in my arm, Merle explaining how he got here, meeting a man who called himself the Governor, learning the place we were was called Woodbury, the first town of new civilisation. This morning, Michonne and I had a little tour through the town, by a woman named Katy. She wore a nice dress, like she was on holiday. I couldn't believe this was real. I saw people everywhere. Real people, no walkers. I asked her the amount.

"73, but Hayley's about to pop, so that makes 74" she answered. I was impressed. All these people, living without fear. As a real town, like to old days.

After the tour, Michonne and I had breakfast with the Governor, and his friend Milton. The Governor was…a strange but kind man. I honestly found him….charming. Don't judge, OK? Whatever happens to the world, I'm still a woman. He may not be the most sexy, badass guy my ex was, it's the inside that I liked about him. I kinda got why they called him the Governor.

His friend Milton, on the other hand, is the typical odd man out. He was very nervous during our conversation, keeping on asking questions, his cup of tea shaking in his hand. He reminded me of a mouse. Don't get me wrong, I liked him. He was just a little…odd.

After breakfast, we wandered around the town. I was enjoying it, Michonne absolutely not. She told me she didn't trust the Governor, that it was not right. I told her not to worry. Yes, there was one of his the Governor's right hands watching us, but that's because we're new here. I understood that. When Ryan came into our group, Rick didn't leave him alone either. Ryan. Shit, Ryan.

I forgot to ask Merle about it, and I didn't think of it during the tour or breakfast. But now, it suddenly came up again. But with saying something about him, I triggered an unfinished conversation and we got in a little fight. It went from bad to worse. I said I didn't know anything about her, and she said I knew enough. Michonne walked off, leaving me stunned.

I sat down on the pavement, shaking my head. I knew this was getting sorted out eventually, that we would be friends again. We never actually had fights, only about this.

I looked around the streets, at all the people, the houses, the plants. Some of the houses had gardens. People grew vegetable in them. I smiled at the sight of fresh tomatoes, cucumber, paprika and even corn.

It seemed so perfect. It seemed so right. I wanted to be here, stay here. Why couldn't Michonne accept the fact that this might be the place to be?

Or maybe it was too perfect to be true. A peaceful town where no weapons are aloud, except for the guards on the wall, nobody's out at night, children are playing, women are laughing, hugging their husbands. Even a pregnant woman.

I sighed at the thought of Lori. Lori, poor Lori. The woman I stared at, had a chance of delivering her baby in a safe place. Wherever Lori was, it wouldn't be as safe as in here.

I bit on my nail, thinking about my group. Where were they? Where they alive? Where they safe? Merle had no clue of them being anywhere. He asked me about his brother, and about Rick. I told him they went back for him, to the roof where Rick had left him. I didn't tell him about the fact that I saw him that night.

That fatale night, where we lost the farm. I sat on my knees behind a bush, looking through the leafs. I somehow knew I wasn't supposed to see it. I still had no idea what it would mean if he knew I knew about him working with Ryan.

I didn't ask about Ryan. I tried to spot him, somewhere in the town. I hadn't seen him, and I didn't know if he was really here. But he worked with Merle, he went away with him. And Beth, she had to be in Woodbury too. They left, all three of them. If Merle was here, they had to be here too. But where?

I was staring at another garden, with grass of one inch long. It was green, natural green. I hated green. Ironically, I had green eyes. But that's not the point I'm about to make. Because when I looked closer, I saw something strange. Just above the ground, there was a little window. A small window, with thick glass. I couldn't see much of it, but I could see that there was a basement. A basement underneath the house. From the window, came a light.

Now, who the hell was staying in a basement in the middle of the day, with the sun shining bright making you sweat, in the only town in the world?

_Carl_

I hung over the balustrade, playing with the keys in my fingers. I was upset. Very upset. I was trying so hard to do everything right. To make sure everyone's safe. I didn't want anyone to die anymore. I couldn't bear that.

I had saved Hershel's life. I was sure that if I didn't go to search for the medical supplies, that he would be dead by the evening. I knew that what I did was good, still, mom judged me. Said I was doing dangerous things. Things I shouldn't be doing.

When I talked back to her, Beth sided with her. She sided with my mom! She basically told me that looking for the infirmary to saver her father was a bad idea!

I just stormed away from them. They were really stupid. I was trying to help! All they did, was staring at a bloody stump. I did something!

I sighed. Mom still thought I was her little baby. A helpless little boy who needed a new diaper. She didn't see, or didn't want to, the boy I had become. A boy who could handle himself, fight against walkers, a smart person.

OK, maybe I was getting a little high about myself, but saying that helping Hershel was irresponsible was just stupid.

Beth walked out the cell where Hershel lay, and looked around. She seemed to be looking for something, or someone.

"Right here" I said. She quickly turned around, and looked up. She smiled sadly, and walked towards the stairs. I put the keys back to my belt, next to my gun. Beth came standing next to me, her hands on the balustrade.

First, she didn't say anything, and we both just looked forward. It was an awkward moment, after all the happenings of today. We were all tired, all scared. Still, we had the awkward teenage moments.

Beth took a breath, and was the first one to start off. "Look, I'm sorry I judged you. I just thought that…the way you talked to her wasn't how you're supposed to talk to her. I mean, I just…"

"Don't worry about it" I said. "You're dad's gonna be OK, that's what matters."

"Yeah, it is." She put a strain of her behind her ear, a movement I didn't understand. Girls are complicated. I never saw that before, but now I was thirteen, and was realizing where Shane and my dad always joked about.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I tried not to push her, just being curious. I knew from my mom that when you're pushing too hard, she gets annoyed.

"I'll explain later" she then said with a sneer, and I knew I had to get the hell away from her.

Beth looked at me. "I…I kinda need your help…with something."

I turned my body towards her, leaning with my elbow on the rail. "What is it?"

"OK, don't get me wrong" she said, as if she was about to tell me something bad she did. "I overheard your father saying something about prisoners. Survivors. Your dad, T-dog and Daryl are helping them clear out another cellblock."

"So, what's your point?"

"The point is; Ryan went to prison."

"This prison?" I said, lifting my eyebrows.

"I don't know for sure, but it's possible. I want to ask the prisoners about him."

"What?!" I said loudly. Beth lay a finger on her lips, pointing down.

"Are you insane?" I asked softer.

"Look, I just want to talk to them, for a minute or so…"

"No, no way! Beth, those men are dangerous! There's a reason why they're in prison!"

"Carl, please, help me get to them!" she begged me. "Look, we don't know anything about Ryan! It's my best shot!"

"Beth, no! I'm not gonna help you!" I said, walking passed her. She grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Please, I want to know more about him! You don't know much about him either."

"Yeah, but…." I was in a tricky position. To be honest, I knew more about Ryan than everyone in this prison. And I knew him good enough to know that if something happened to Beth, I might as well shoot myself right now. I had to find a way to convince her not to go. Who knows why those prisoners are in here. What crimes they have committed… I knew that what I was about to say, was going to hurt her. But it was the only way from keeping her from going.

"…I don't want to know anything about him!" I said. I tried to be really angry, and I saw it kinda worked. The grip on my arm wasn't so tight anymore. "Beth, he left us! Twice! He's not coming back, not for any of us. He caused all of this, he made us suffer. He's the one who made everyone turn into walkers! It's his fault your father's laying there, with his leg chewed off! He's a bad guy, Beth. Stop caring about him."

She let go of my arm, and looked at me. She was shocked. I wanted to tell her I was sorry, but I instead bit my tongue. I had to stay put, and maybe push a little further.

"Your father is what you should worry about now. Not a the guy who left you."

I then walked passed her, feeling awful. I was being a dick for no reason, but I couldn't tell her about the bottle and the cure and all that. It was a dangerous thing to know. If she talked to those prisoners, and Ryan indeed stayed in here, she would know about the cure soon enough. I couldn't know that for sure, I didn't know to what kind of people Ryan talked in here and whom he told about it, but I couldn't take any chances.

_Milton_

"Knock, knock" I said, opening the heavy door to the underground laboratory. Pushing the door with my shoulder, I tried not to drop the plate I hold. The food was still hot, and the glass of water ice cold. It even condensed a little when I went into the hot room.

Ryan had managed to get himself in front of the big ventilator, blowing his hair out of his face. It had grown longer since the first time he got here. It was almost hanging over his ears.

I put the plate on one of the tables, shoving all the bottles and papers aside. He wasn't using them anyway.

"Is it dinnertime already?" Ryan asked, his voice weak. He got rid of his shirt, and his big chest was full of sweat.

"Time flies when you're having fun" I said, trying to be sarcastically. I failed, but Ryan laughed.

"Is it so much fun up there?"

"Well, we got new people in town" I said, walking towards the chair. I pulled out a key from my pocket, and kneeled down to unlock the chains. I sighed at the sight of all the blood around his ankles.

"I know, I know" Ryan said, without opening his eyes. Like he knew why I was sighing. "But I had to get myself some cold air. I'm dying down here."

I tried to be careful when I moved the chains. He cursed a little when I accidently touched one of the cuts.

"Sorry." When they were off, Ryan stood up, and stretched out his legs.

"Man, how long are they gonna keep me here? With all this heat, I can't work. Can't you speak some good words for me to you friend the Mayor?"

"You mean the Governor?" I said, smiling about his error.

"Yeah, that one" he said, sipping from the glass of water.

"I see what I can do."

Ryan pulled his leg into a hamstring stretch, and grumbled at the pain of the muscles. "So, new people, uh? Where from this time?"

"The woods" I answered. Ryan grinned at me, and I realized that wasn't really what he asked. "I mean, one of them is from Atlanta, the other, we don't know."

"Atlanta, you say?" Ryan pulled up his other leg.

"Yes, and Merle seemed to know her."

Ryan dropped his leg, and turned his head. He blinked his eyes, as if he hadn't heard me properly.

"She? And Merle? Atlanta? What's her name?"

"Andrea. The one from Atlanta is called Andrea."

Ryan widened his eyes, and put down the glass of water. "Andrea…" he whispered. "Blonde? Green eyes?"

"Yes, yes that's her."

"I thought she was dead…." Ryan leaned on the table with both hands, hanging his head above the papers and bottles. "What about the other one?"

"That's an mysterious type. She's afro American, I thought her name was Michelle….or something."

"I don't know a Michelle…" Ryan put a hand over his eyes. "So, she's here. Is she staying?"

"We don't know yet." I looked at him, seeing him in what seemed grief, or surprise. Something in between. As if someone came back from the dead, but then in the good way. Ryan had been working on this cure for almost eight months now, but he had nothing to work with. All he did, was write, make drawings of what's supposed to be cells, fool around with some chemistry and sometimes blow something up. Philip….I mean, the Governor, wanted me to play his friend, find out what he was doing all that time under the ground. Truth was, I told him he was working on it, and told him that it would take at least five years before there would be a real breakthrough. For now, Ryan was still 'doing research'. Or something like that.

"Could you…could you give her something?" Ryan suddenly asked. "I'll write a letter or something, or just tell her what I want to tell her."

"Ryan, you know I can't do that" I began. I already wasn't supposed to be doing this. If Philip found out…

"Please, just…tell her…"

When I shook my head, he stopped talking. He closed his eyes, growled in frustration and slammed his fist into the table.

"I'm sorry" I said, which I truly was.

"It's OK, I understand. You can't give her a message 'cause you probably think I'm going to tell her to get the fuck away from here. But you know, Milton, if I do tell her to get the fuck outta here, your friend will kill her. So, what's the point?"

He had me there. There was nothing I could say back. I opened and shut my mouth, and nodded.

"Alright then, what do you want me to tell her?"

"Tell her not to trust Merle" Ryan said, stepping away from the table. "And that she can't let anyone know that she knows I'm here."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

_Ryan_

When Milton left, I quickly ate all the food on the plate. I then drank the last drops of water, and put the stuff away. When I was sure nobody could hear me, I walked to the closet with the lab tools. I moved all the books and reports Milton gave me, and felt with my finger around the edges of the shelf. I moved the loose plank, and reached out my arm to get the real project I was working on.

The guys who held me were stupid enough to think I was working on the cure. They all think that if you mess you hair up, you're a scientist. Well, I burned my hair several times, and I often blow something up.

The only guy I worried about, is their leader. He was smarter than them. He absolutely didn't trust me, so he would come for a check-up every now and then, and I would show him the same image again, maybe with some different colours, another form, some new notes. To a normal person, it looks like someone real smart is working really hard. To an autistic person, it looks like the inside of their own brain. To a scientist, it looks like a high school project of the lowest class of art.

At day, I didn't do shit. At night was the only time I could work. I had absolutely no sleep. Maybe an hour or two. After a few weeks, you get used to it.

The real cure I was working on, was sure as hell not for them. I wasn't giving it to them, I was not making it to get my freedom.

The truth is; there is no cure. There is no cure against the infection of the virus. There's only a way to slow down the process. And that's what I'm working on. At day, I work on their cure, at night, I work at the thing that can really change the world.

But at that night, I had a problem. I looked at all my notes, and the small bottle with blue liquid in it. There was one thing I still needed, before it was finished.

But that thing wasn't here. It wasn't anywhere anymore. There was no way anyone could get it for me. Even I didn't know where it was. I knew who had it, 'cause I gave it to him myself. But I had no idea where he was, if he was still alive, if he hadn't lost it.

All I could do, was hope. Hope for him, and hope for her.


	29. Chapter 28: Black-Eyed-Ray

**~(^-^)~ That was literally my expression after seeing S04E01. Seriously, what's going on between Beth and Daryl...? **

**And my favourite quote of this episode is from Daryl, when Beth came to kiss Zach; "Stupid romance-novel..." I laughed so hard of his grumpy voice. **

**OK, enough fangirl crap. Chapter 28, lot to talk about. **

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead)**

**Enjoy!;)**

_Chapter 28: Black-Eyed-Ray_

_Michonne_

I spread out the map over the bed. Andrea let out a sigh.

"Please, Michonne, not this again."

I gave her an irritated look. "We are not staying here."

"I already told you, I don't wanna leave." Andrea stood up from the bed, and walked to the window. "I like it here."

"But it's not safe" I explained her for the hundred time. "The Governor-"

"Michonne, there are people here" she said, turning around. "Real people. Alive. They have food, medicine, even a school! Can't we just enjoy this for a moment?"

"I thought I made myself clear" I said, standing up. "I am not staying here. This Governor guy, he's bad news. You can stay here because 'you like it', but I'm going."

"Michonne, I…" Andrea wanted to say something else, but she shut her mouth. She then looked away from me, as if she was about to say something she wasn't supposed to.

"What? What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's nothing." That was not enough for me.

"You were gonna say something. Say it."

She hesitated. "Well, there's another reason why I don't wanna leave. Not yet."

"What is it?" I had the feeling where this was going.

"You know…what I told you, about the night I lost my group?"

I sighed, and sat down on the bed again. "Not this again."

"Just listen, OK? You remember what I told you about the man and the car, and the girl?"

"Yes. You thought the man was the brother of one of your group. The girl was the farmer's daughter, and the boyfriend, and they…"

"Yes, well guess who's the mystery man?"

Then it hit me. I never was surprised. Never. This was the closest I got, ever. "Merle…"

"Yes. And if Merle's here, that means-"

"You think the other two are here." I let out a sigh, again. This was getting complicated. "Andrea, you know it's a long shot."

"I know, I know, but I have a good feeling about this. There's a big chance Beth and Ryan are here. I haven't seen them yesterday, maybe we just missed them. But I know there somewhere."

I thought about it for a sec, and then shook my head. "I'm sorry. I already decided, I'm not staying here any longer."

"Why not? 'Cause you don't like the Governor?"

"I don't like what he's doing. You know, I did some research, and I found the army trucks. They had bullet holes in them."

"So? That doesn't prove anything!"

"And the pilot they saved the other day, where did he go? Andrea, this guy is bad news. I'm telling you, we need to leave. Today."

"Michonne, please" Andrea said, stepping away from the window. "Just, give me one more day. One day to figure out if they're really here."

"And what are you gonna do if they are?" I asked, pretty curious for the answer. "If it's so great here as you say, they sure as hell won't come with us."

"You can't know that" she replied, crossing her arms. "Beth wants to find the others just as much as I do. And Ryan will go with her, whatever it takes."

I put my hands on my hips, thinking about the plan. God, why did it have to be so complicated? I couldn't help it that I cared about her. I wasn't going to leave her, not here. We were out there together for so long, I couldn't just let her fall.

"Fine" I eventually said. "You get one day. But tomorrow, we're leaving."

"Thank you" Andrea said, putting her hands together. "Thank you so much."

"Now go, see what you can find." She nodded, and walked towards the door of the apartment. She opened it, and almost bumped into Milton, the Governor's right hand.

"Oh, hey" he said awkwardly, putting his glasses on the right place on his nose. "Andrea. Can I talk to you for a sec?"

_Beth_

I bobbled my head from shoulder to shoulder. The beds of the prison were not like home, but better than sleeping on the ground. I still needed to get used to it.

I softly jumped down from the top bed, my father peacefully sleeping again. We celebrated his recovery yesterday with a big meal with all the new food, and for the first time in months, I went to bed with a round tummy.

I still felt happy about it, but I was also sad. The thing Carl said to me yesterday, it still spooked in my head. I knew he was right. I mean, I was chasing a ghost. Someone who wasn't coming back. Ever.

On the other hand, I loved Ryan. I couldn't help but to blush when I thought of him. I guessed I was the only one who ever thought about him. Rick never wanted his name called out again, and nobody dared. Rick thought of Ryan as a traitor, somebody he trusted who let him down. It felt almost the same as with Shane. Nobody ever mentioned him, nobody wanted to. Where some of us had doubts about Ryan, we were all straight about Shane. Shane was a murderer, gone crazy because of love and death. I never liked him.

I sat on the chair, where my dad sat in yesterday. He was bored of the bed, and thought a chair made a difference. Not.

I sat on the chair and watched him sleep. I was happy he was still here. Happy he was alive. Happy I wasn't an orphan. I didn't know what I would do if I was. I didn't want to think about it. Parentless. I couldn't bear that.

My eyes caught the thing that stood in the corner. It stood next to the opening of the cell, like a guardian. The shadow of it made it look like a big animal. But if you looked closer, you saw an melee weapon. Heaving this in our cell, made me feel safe, like my soft pony pillow did when I was a kid.

It wasn't far. It wasn't right. I was supposed to know the truth. Carl tried to hold me back, but I won't. Looking at the axe, a plan started to form in my head. It was a dangerous plan, a pretty stupid and terribly wrong, but the best I came up with.

I was lucky to wake up early that day. Nobody would see me leave. When they would wake up, I would be back already, my questions answered without letting anybody know.

I stood up from the chair, and searched through the pile of clothes for my jacket.

_Andrea_

"Are we there yet?" I asked, as we walked over the sunny streets of Woodbury.

"Just a little further" Milton mumbled. He played with his fingers in his hand, seeming nervous.

"Where are we going? And why are we going there?"

"I'll explain later" Milton answered, nodding to Shumpert, the dark skinned right hand of the Governor. He nodded back, and we walked passed him. I could feel his eyes still watching us. I wondered why.

"Here it is." Milton stood still in front of a door of one of the houses. He opened the door with a key, and let himself and me in.

"Where are we?" I asked, literally stepping in the dark. There was no light, all I saw was darkness.

"This is my apartment" Milton said, closing the door. "I just gotta find a light switch…"

Then there was a bright light in my eyes, and I could see one room. It had a wooden floor, and there stood a long table, full of books and piles of paper. There as a chair, a ventilator, and that was it. I saw some other doors, which were probably his bedroom and other personal spaces.

"And why are we here?" I asked, looking around. Milton walked passed me, towards the table. He grabbed a pencil from somewhere under a book, and a piece of paper.

"What are you doing?" I asked, stepping closer. He was writing on the paper, and gave it to me. He also gave me a pencil.

_Keep it down. We are being spied on. _

"Would you like some tea?" he asked loudly.

"What did you wanna tell me?" I wrote back.

_I have a message from a friend of yours._

Who?

"Earl grey would be nice" I said back.

_Doesn't matter. The point is, he's in Woodbury._

"Sugar?"

Where is he?

"Only milk, please."

_Can't tell you. You can't let anybody know that you know he's here._

"I have some biscuits. Would you like some?"

Why not?

"No, I'm fine."

_It's dangerous for both of you to know._

"So, how do you like Woodbury so far?"

Is he OK? Is he with a girl?

"It's pretty nice. Almost like a real town."

_No, he's alone. He wanted me to tell you not to trust Merle._

"Yeah, we began to get really good at it."

The piece of paper was full on one side, so I turned around to write on the other side.

Why not trust Merle?

"There was a school, right?"

_He also knows your friend is here. But it's a secret, and if Merle knows you know, you're in trouble._

"Yes, for the little ones."

I don't understand. What trouble?

_I can't tell you more. You already know too much. If you want to stay in Woodbury, you have to keep the secret, and do not trust Merle with anything._

I extended my arm for the paper, but Milton held it in his hand after letting me read his answer. He then pulled something from his pocket. He put a lighter under the paper, and a flame ate the messaging. Nobody would know, but us. This conversation would only stay between us.

I had a lot of questions unanswered. A lot of things I didn't understand. Why so many secrets? Was Michonne right? Was the Governor bad news?

I did not know what to think. It was just as when Shane accused Ryan of making walkers. There were so many reasons to believe, but also to do not.

I looked at Milton, and he pointed at the door. "So, this was my apartment. Where do you want to go next?"

_Axel_

"Do you think they'll lend us some coffee?" I asked Oscar. He snorted, and as always, he didn't take me serious. "What? Can't a man enjoy some latté?"

"Of course, but the problem is….you ain't a man. You're a midget."

"A midget?" Then it hit me. "O, very funny. You're gonna pick up the ol' nickname again?"

"Can't a man enjoy some jokes?" he responded, imitation the tone of my voice.

"Ha ha, very funny" I said sarcastically. I put the last rubbish in the bin, and our cellblock was clean. Finally. A prison is never really full of hygiene, even before all this. I thought this was the cleanest I had the place ever seen.

"So, Cinderella, what do we do next?" I said, taking payback. The big man grinned, leaning with his hand on the broom he was holding.

"Cinderella…where did you get that idea from?"

"Your beautiful feet, of course."

"Aha. Well, you know what they say about man with big feet…."

"They have big hands also." We both let out a laugh, but it faded away in a sad silence. It was a joke from one of our fellows, one of the D-block too. We liked to call him Teasing Teddy, his real name was Ted. He always came up with the stupidest jokes from old TV shows. The Fresh Prince of Bell-Air, Married with Children, all that kind of stuff. He loved it, he even asked his mom to bring him more dvd's, and sometimes the guards would set up a beamer and we could all rewatch the stupid episodes where people are fake laughing all the time.

Oscar shook his head and grinned at the memory. I opened my mouth to say something else that was funny, when I heard a door open. I froze, and I saw Oscar do the same. He widened his eyes, and pointed at something behind me. I slowly turned around, and saw nothing but the corner where the door to the halls was. I couldn't see if anything was coming.

I turned around, and lifted my shoulders. Oscar nodded with his chin towards it, and I shook my head. No way I was gonna look what it was.

Another sound. Footsteps. A growl. Oscar held his broom close to him, and I stepped back. "C'mon, let's go get him!" I whispered.

"What? No way, man, we ain't got any weapons!" Fuck. He was right.

We stood next to each other, waiting for what was about to come. First, we saw a shadow. Then, a rotten arm appeared, and a body followed. It wasn't one of us. Not a prisoner. It was a man with in a suit, probably some high chief in the business or something. Now, he scared the Jesus outta me. I heard Oscar gasp, and stumbled back. We looked like damn kids.

The thing moved his head, towards us. Crap, he had heard us.

"What do we do?" I whispered to Oscar. The thing let out a growl.

"I dunno" Oscar whispered back. "That's the thing that killed so many of us. How am I supposed to know-"

"We can take one, right? Like we did in the halls earlier?"

"Yeah, but then there were five of us. Now, we gotta do it by two."

"So, you go first?"

"What?! Hell no, you go first!"

"Listen, man, I-"

Before I could finish my sentence, the thing let out a very loud growl, and collapsed to the ground. The back of its skull was split in two, and a big sharp object was sticking out of it. A foot was set on the skull, and the axe pulled out. The person holding it, was a young, pretty, blonde girl. She wiped the blood of her cheek, and looked up to us.

"Uh, hi" she said awkwardly. She put a strain of hair behind her ear, and the killer I saw changed into a teenage girl.

All Oscar and I could do, was stare at both the girl and the dead body on the ground. This girl could slam this motherfucker down, something we grown man couldn't do. I felt like an idiot. An idiot with a great moustache.

The girl stepped forward. "I'm Beth. I'm from the other group. I wanted to ask you something, about a guy I know-knew."

"Does yer pops know you're here?" Oscar asked, his eyebrows lifted. He absolutely didn't trust this.

"You mean Rick? No, he's not my father, and he also doesn't know about this."

"Then I don' think this is a good idea."

A begging look appeared in the green eyes of the girl. "Please, I just need to ask you like….three questions. It's very important! Nobody will know about this."

"What do you wanna know?" I said, stepping towards her. Oscar immediately put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me back. I looked at him, and he shook his head. _Not a good idea, bro. _I shook his hand off, and walked to Beth.

"What is it?"

_Philip_

"So this group of yours…that was the one on that farm?"

"Yes, sir, but I had no idea" Merle answered. I put my cup of coffee down, and looked at him. He looked back, with a very convincing look, but I somehow questioned his loyalty.

"And you know this from….Andrea, right?"

"Yes, tha blonde one. She gave me a map, with the exact location."

"And you wanna go look for your brother, don't you?" I watched his face, observed it, saw him struggle inside.

"Yes, sir. I do."

"You think this other group will be of any danger?"

"Not if it's up tah me."

I leaned with my chin on my hand. What to do, what to do. This whole thing with Merle's brother was really boring. Couldn't we just…move on? Why did he keep asking about it, hinting and mentioning his brother all the time? We all lost people, we all lost family. We all let go, why wouldn't he? The town we have is much more important. The things we do to stay alive are more important than chasing a ghost.

"Try to find out more about this group" I eventually said. "Ask her some more about them. About their leader. Then, we'll talk about your brother."

Merle nodded, and walked out the room. After he closed the door, I took another sip of my coffee. I knew I lost Merle.

I began to question his loyalty the night he brought the young scientist to the town. Merle was supposed to watch over the wounded, hungry kid taped to a chair. He told me a story of a 'great escape'. It was a heroic story with a big fight and all, very dramatic and hard to believe.

But I couldn't let Merle get killed. Not yet. He was too valuable to us. To me. He was a great man if it came to leading a search or going out there. He was one of the three man I trusted at first. Now, there were only two.

There was a knock on the door. I put my coffee away, and cleared my throat.

"Come in" I said, trying to sound busy. Shumpert, the big tanned man, the second man I trusted in this town, stepped inside the office.

"I got news of the blonde one."

"Good, tell me."

"Milton took her to his apartment, and they talked, but I don't think they were just talking."

"How's that?"

"When they came outside again, they walked passed me, and I smelled ash on their clothes."

"Ash?" I chuckled. "Since when does Milton smoke?"

"That's what I thought" Shumpert said, with the always humourless expression on his face. "I think they talked about something else than tea."

"I'll talk to Milton about it" I said, still grinning about the idea of Milton with a cigarette sticking out of his mouth. "You can leave now."

_Oscar_

"What's the guy's name?" Axel asked. I rolled my eyes. You gotta be joking, I thought. That Rick-man almost killed me the day before, those people ain't right.

"His name's Ryan" the girl said, and I saw her eyes light up a little. "Ryan Blutch. He's at the beginning of his twenties, brown-blonde hair and brown eyes. He's a little taller than you."

With the last thing she said, she pointed at me. I quickly looked away. I couldn't stand the look of hope on her face, like she would actually found what she was looking for. After all that I've heard these passed days, all hope inside of me was gone.

"Young fellow, you say?" Axel said, turning the end of his moustache between his fingers. He then turned to me. "Did we have a Ryan at our cellblock?"

"Don' look at me, man. I ain't helpin'."

"Don't be so rude, Oscar! This girl just wants to know some things about him. We could help her out."

"How do we know she ain't testin' us?" I said, putting the broom away. "How do we know this Ryan- guy wasn't the bad guy, someone you're lookin' for. How do we know she's not trying to find out if we were workin' with him, or something?!"

"Don't be so paranoid" Axel said, lifting his eyebrows. "What happened to you this morning?"

I put my jaws on top of each other, scraping my teeth over one another. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was being paranoid. But, what do yah know? I've been locked up in the same room with some other guys for several months, with no pot to piss in. I lived with the guys I thought I could trust. In the end, they betrayed me by killing one of my friends, and got themselves killed. Axel now found it weird that I was being paranoid.

"I didn't know any Ryan" I said to the girl. She stared at me, and then looked to the ground. Axel opened his mouth to say something, but I shook my head. I was telling the truth, there was no god damn Ryan in this prison.

The girl turned around, ready to leave. I could see tears blink in the corners of her eyes, and it scared me. She must've really cared about this Ryan-person. She was trying to find him, and would do anything to get him back, even kill people. And I was being a dick.

"Wait" I said, and she turned around. "Maybe, I knew a guy."

"You do?" not the girl said, but Axel. "How?"

"Black-Eyed- Ray" I said, and the recognition on Axel's face was too funny. It made me grin a little.

"Of course!" he shouted, face palming himself. "I'm an idiot! 'Course she means Black-Eyed-Ray!"

"I'm sorry, who?" the girl asked, with an alarmed look.

"I think you mean a guy we sat with a couple of times, during dinner" I explained. "We called him Black-Eyed-Ray 'cause of his black eye. He always had one black eye, sometimes it was blue, purple, and turned green."

"Every time we saw the poor guy, he was beaten up like a dog" Axel said, and I saw the eyes of the girl grew wide.

"He was a nice guy, though" I quickly said. "But there was something strange about him. Once a month, he would be picked up and we wouldn't see him for days. He would then come back, beaten up, and the next month, they would come and take him away again."

"They?" the girl asked, looking at me like I was telling her a ghost story.

"Men in suits" Axel explained. "Government guys, fancy people."

"I once asked Ray about it" I continued. "And he told me somethin' about trouble in the past, some weird project he got into too deep."

"The Virus" Beth whispered. "Did he tell you more about it?"

"Nope, that's all he told me."

"Well, he once told me he had a brother" Axel suddenly said, and the surprise on the girl's face was even bigger than when she heard her boyfriend's nickname.

"A brother? He never told me he had a brother."

"Well, he sure had one" Axel said, grossing his arms. "Big brother, about 9 or ten years older than him."

"Did he tell you his name?" the girl asked.

"Well, I guess he must've mentioned it once, but I forgot. I think it was something like….Leo, Loyd…or maybe it was Lester, or something else with an L…"

"Well, good to know" a manly voice said from behind the girl.

_Hershel_

"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!" Someone gently shook me awake. I opened my eyes, blinked against the sunlight, and tried to see the shadow that bent over me.

"I'm awake, I'm awake" I said, pulling myself up by the bed. "Good morning to you too, Maggie."

My daughter smiled, and for one second, she looked exactly like her mother. I softly grabbed her hand, and held it with both mine. I was so grateful, to have more time to spent with my daughters. I looked up at my oldest, her surrounded by light, like an angel.

"C'mon, dad, breakfast's ready" Maggie said, not aware of how beautiful she was.

"Of course." I let go of her hand, and swung one and a part of the other over the bed. Maggie already grabbed both my shoulders to help, but I pushed her hands away.

"Don't, just let me…" I only needed to get myself on the chair. From there, I could try to hop with the crutches Carl got me. I hadn't practised yet, but how hard could it be?

"Dad…" Maggie began, her voice already telling me she knew what I was planning on doing. "Let me and Glenn help you to the table. I don't think-"

"At least let me try, honey." Balancing on one foot, I hopped upon the chair. I looked full triumph up to Maggie, and she rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Now, don't get your hopes to high."

"I'm not." I reached out for the crutches that leaned against the wall. I put one at each side of me, and leaned on them. Maggie looked sceptical, crossing her arms over her chest.

I hold the crutches close, and took a breath. Then, leaning on my one foot, I pulled myself up.

Maggie let out a sigh of relieve, as I stood up.

"I told you I could do it" I said.

"It's a start" she replied with a smile. I looked at the ground, at my feet. Next; walking. I put one crutch first, and immediately lost my balance. I fell with face down to the ground. Maggie kneeled down to catch me, but couldn't prevent me from bursting with my chest on the ground.

Glenn already stood beside Maggie, shocked expression on his face. "What happened?"

"Dad was being stubborn" Maggie said, a little amused. They both helped me up.

"Let us just carry you" Glenn said, looking at the crutches.

"No!" I said, my cheeks getting red. "I'm not a child! I refuse to be treated like one!"

"Well, right now, you're acting like a child!" Maggie said, in the way her mother would have said it to me. "If you don't want us to carry you, fine. At least, lean on us. We'll try the crutches tomorrow, OK?"

"Alright" I mumbled. Maggie put my arm over her shoulders, and Glenn the other. Leaning on both of them, I hopped on my one leg out of the cell.

Carol put plates on the table, and looked up as she saw us coming. "Good job, Hershel."

"Thank you" I said, not meaning it. It was just polite to say so. Maggie and Glenn let me down on one of the benches, and Carl said down next to me. The boy seemed better than yesterday. The last months, his face had become pale, and his body thin. Today, he had a slight blush on his cheeks, and his t-shirt didn't seem so big around him.

Lori said down at the other side of the table, her hand on her round belly. Daryl said on the stairs to the exit of the cellblock, his crossbow next to him. Carol sat down next to Lori, and T-dog next to her. The only two missing, were Rick and Beth.

Of course, I was worried about my daughter more than about Rick. Rick just went his own way, did whatever he thought was right. We didn't worry about him anymore, we learned that whatever he was doing, was for the sake of our group. Beth, on the other hand, was always by my or her sister's side. She never disappeared, like Rick did. She always told me where she was going. Where was she now?

"Have you seen your sister?" I asked Maggie. Her eyes widen.

"No, I thought she was still in bed" she said, "and when I didn't see her, I thought she was already here."

"Maybe she went outside" Glenn said, trying to comfort everyone. "To get some air."

"No, she didn't" Carol said. "I was here the whole time, the first one awake. I haven't seen anyone but Rick go outside."

"Crap…" Carl cursed.

"Carl! Watch your mouth!" his mother immediately said.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" Daryl asked. I turned towards Carl, and he looked downwards, as if he was guilty of something. The red blush was gone, and his face was even more pale than usual.

"I…I…It's my fault" he stuttered.

"What's your fault?" Glenn asked, bending towards him.

"I…I told her not to go, but she did."

"To where?" Maggie asked, her voice trembling.

"She went to see the other prisoners" Rick suddenly said, and we all turned around. Behind Daryl, the ex-sheriff stood, and next to him, my blonde daughter, holding a red fire axe.

"I'm sorry, daddy" she said with a small voice.

_Unknown_

I walked through the forest. The leaves didn't let any sunlight through, which was nice with these temperatures. My back was sweating, and I stank like a pig in the mud. God, how many times had I wished for a bathtub to wash in? A hundred, a million times?

The past few months, all I did was wonder from town to town, sometimes hunt around in the woods, setting up traps. But every time, after a few weeks or so, I had to go somewhere else. I couldn't leave tracks to follow. The people of the town weren't really good on tracking, but starting a campfire could lead any blind walker to me.

The migrating plan wasn't really working out for me. I had a big wound on my leg, which itched real bad. The pharmacies were just as helpful as a laptop in this godamned world. I hated this fucking apocalypse thing.

I absolutely knew I was walking in circles again when I crossed the prison for the second time this day. Like all the other times I saw it between the trees again, I wanted to go on my way again, but this time, I stopped. I stopped to look, because something was different.

I pushed away some leafs, and stepped into the sunlight. I put my hand above my eyes, narrowing them, trying to get a sight.

"No fucking way" I mumbled to myself, stunned. The fields of the prison were as good as empty. There were only a few dead ones lurking through the fences, but they were outside the prison. The fields were empty. Someone cleared it out. That meant people were in there.

"Well, maybe this still can be a good day" I grinned to myself. People, real people. Should I be scared, or happy? I didn't know. The last people I ran into, tried to eat me. But that was about four months ago. It was spring now, times were different.

I put my cap on my head again, and grinned. I tried to get more grip on my sword. I really felt like a Jedi, or a Knight. I broke into the museum a few weeks back, and ran into this beauty. It's called 'The Thorn of The Giant'. It was a big sword, you're supposed to use it with both your hands. I was all fan-girlish about it, but when the undead museum guard grabbed me by my shoulder, the sword and I became friends for life.

The thing was heavy, but the best thing that ever happened to me. I held it in my hand, and dragged my leg over the ground, towards the big prison.

"Let's hope they're friendly."


	30. Chapter 29 Big Brother

**(0_0)/ was my reaction to s0402. I thought at the beginning of the season; Jeej, everything's gonna be alright! After the first two episodes; Nope, everyone's gonna die :'(**

**Luckily, we are still in season 3, with some creepy guy with a sword is about to enter the prison, Michonne is still stuck in Woodbury 'cause Andrea doesn't wanna leave yet, and Andrea has still no idea what she's doing. Chapter 29, people.**

**Me gusta reviews ^-^**

**(Disclaimer; I do not own The Walking Dead)**

**Enjoy!;)**

_Chapter 29: Big Brother_

_Hershel_

"She was bringing our neighbours a visit" Rick said coldly. I shook my head, and looked at my daughter.

"What were you thinking?" Maggie shouted. "Are you outta your mind?"

"No, Maggie, you don't understand…" Beth said desperately.

"Then explain it" her sister replied. Beth looked at the ground, as if she didn't want to tell us.

"Beth, honey" I said, trying to get up. "Please, I'm not mad. I'm just…disappointed. You must have a very good reason to run off like that."

Beth kept looking at the ground, not ready to confess. Rick shook his head and rolled with his eyes.

"She was asking them about her ex-boyfriend" he then said. I lifted my eyebrows.

"What?" Maggie said, looking confused. "Why would you ask the prisoners about Ryan?"

"'Cause Ryan went to prison too" Carl suddenly said. All heads turned towards him, and he blushed a little by all the attention.

"I mean, he told me. He told me he went to prison, but was accused of something he didn't do."

"He's right" Glenn said. "Do you guys remember the whole debate in the living room in the farmhouse?"

"I remember" I nodded. I remembered it all too well. The time when I shot Ryan, thinking he had done something to my Beth, when it really was Jimmy.

"I….I went to see the prisoners, because I thought they could tell me something about him" Beth said with a small voice. "And they told me a lot of things I didn't know."

"Like what?" Carol asked. I always thought Carol still cared about Ryan. She somehow had a special bond with him, which I couldn't place.

"Does it matter?" Rick said, as a rhetoric question. At the tone of his voice, I could feel he was really done with this. He never wanted anyone to say anything about Ryan.

"Wait, what were you doing in there?" Daryl suddenly asked. We all froze. Daryl was the only one who sometimes argued with Rick. He was the only one brave enough to say what he really thought.

I saw Rick scrape his teeth over one another, his face cold. He never had a different expression. The past months had hardened him. The new world made him a different man.

"I was about to get rid of them" he said. I heard Lori gasp in disbelieve, and Beth's jaw dropped.

"Why?" I asked. "Why would you? They didn't do anything to us. We should discuss this, as a group."

"Later. What we have to do now, is make plans on how we are getting this place secure" Rick said, with a look at Lori. He then turned around, and walked away. So much for planning.

Beth still stood there, with Ryan's axe in both her hands. It seemed so heavy and big in her hands.

"Beth, come sit here" I said, making room for her on the bench. She looked up to me, with a smile. She put down the axe and sat down next to me. I put an arm around her shoulder, and kissed her on her head.

"Don't you ever scare me like this again, you hear me?"

"I won't, daddy."

_Ryan_

I put down the empty plate, and wiped the crumbles of my face. When you're hungry, bread hard as stone doesn't taste so bad.

The door of my lab got unlocked, and I grunted in frustration. "Don't you have something better to do?"

"Nah, hangin' out with my favourite scientist is way cooler than with the Governor" Merle said, closing the door behind him. "So, how yah doin', Frankenstein?"

"I was doing very well, until you came in."

Merle chuckled. "Ah, c'mon, we're a good team. Yah know, with savin' yer friends an'all…."

"Keep it down!" I whispered, with a quick look at the door, where the guard probably stood.

"Ah, chill out, Frankie, ain't no guard when I'm here" Merle said, stepping closer. I still sat on the chair, chained with my feet to the wood. "Yah look pathetic."

"Thank you, really needed your opinion" I said back sarcastically.

"But really, what are yah doin'?"

"O, you know, science stuff. Things your brain is not functioned to understand."

"Really? Well, last I saw you before you blew up the research thing, you didn't make blue water and mixed it with purple till there was a yellow smoke coming from it."

I did as if I hadn't heard him, and grabbed some papers and a pencil. "Like I said, things you would never understand."

"I probably don' understand a word of these papers, but I'm smart enough ta know that what ye're doin'here, ain't what ye're supposed to do."

"Maybe, maybe not" I mumbled, focusing on the paper in front of me. "You done?"

"Not just yet" Merle said, and he threw a paper on the table. It was a large paper, maybe three times as big as which I was writing on. I sat up straight, and looked over it.

"A map" I said. Merle nodded, leaning with his good arm on the table. "What am I supposed to do with it?"

"I got this from your friend Andrea" he said, playing with his eyebrows. I tried to look surprised when he said her name, 'cause he couldn't know I already knew Andrea was in Woodbury.

"How is she?"

"Good, she looks good" Merle said with a dirty smile, and I rolled my eyes.

"I shouldn't have asked…"

"She didn't say anything 'bout you, though" he said, looking suspicious. I knew that look, and it didn't mean any good.

"Yeah, well, when I left, most of the group hated me."

"Yeah, they hated me too" Merle said, with played sympathy. "But they didn't hate yah so much they left yah on a roof of a building in the centre of Atlanta."

"Well, that meant all of the group hated you."

"Not my baby-bro."

I sighed. "No, not him."

"And you got yer pretty blonde who loves yah."

"I don't think she loves me" I said, and it was true. "I left her, I left all of them. She would be smart to just go on with her life, 'cause there's no chance I will ever see her again."

"Sad story, bro" Merle grinned, and he patted me on the shoulder. "Put all that anger in yer work, and maybe you'll be outta here soon."

"Go joke around somewhere else, Dixon" I said, giving him a shove. "Ain't no way I'll ever see the sun again. But seriously, what am I supposed to do with this map?"

_Rick_

I looked through the binoculars. Nothing special. The fences were clean, with a walker here and there. The field was empty, as we left it. The only place still invaded, was somewhere in the back of the courtyard, so we stayed away from it.

I sighed, and sat back. Why did they have to make it so complicated? We had enough troubles with Hershel, the walkers, the prisoners. Why did they need to make such a big deal out of…him? He betrayed us, that's what happened. End of story.

Today, I wanted to make an end to one of our many problems, and they made it an even bigger problem. I wanted to get rid of those prisoners, and we could have all the food for ourselves. But no, let's ruin it all by making friends with them!

From the corner of my eye, I saw something moving. I turned my head, just to see a group of walker by the outside fence. They were all reaching through the iron with their rotten arms, nothing special. But when I looked closer, I saw one of them not moving at all.

I stood up, narrowed my eyes. Was it a walker?

The figure then pulled himself up, and started climbing up. I quickly grabbed the binoculars again, and watched the person climb over the raiser fence to the other side. He was through the first gate. There was one other that separated us.

I sat on my knees, making myself small. I grabbed one of our hunting rifles, and checked the ammo.

The figure, who seemed to be a man, was wearing a hat, so I couldn't see his face. He was wearing bloody clothes, a t-shirt and black trousers. He had a backpack over his shoulder, and had something hanging by his hip. It seemed like it was a stick or something. One of his legs was injured, he slipped it behind him over the ground.

I hunched over to the edge of the balcony of the watchtower, with the rifle in front of me. The man was now crossing the field, and was about to reach the second gate. He stood still in front of the chains with the lock, putting down his stuff. I readied my weapon.

"You have ten seconds to tell me who you are, what you're doing here and how you find this place" I shouted, and he turned his head. "Don't move, or I'll shoot."

I was stunned by the face of the man. So stunned, I kept my finger of the trigger. This guy looked almost the same as _him. _Only older. His jaws were bigger, and he was taller and had bigger shoulders than his younger brother. But he had the same eyes.

"Well?!" I shouted, when I got back to myself.

"My name is Liam Blutch. I came here to…"

"What did you say your name was?" I shouted.

"Liam, sir. Liam Blutch."

"Fuck…" I grumbled. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to seek a place to stay. I've been on the run since a couple of months."

"I'm sorry, place is full" I said coldly. "Now, leave."

"Please, man, this place is huge!" Liam said. "How many people do you got in there? This place can't be that small for…"

I pulled the trigger, and a bullet went straight in the ground next to Liam's feet. He jumped up in the air, hurting himself by his injured leg.

"I said; leave!"

I heard the door of the cellblock being opened, and Daryl, T-dog and Glenn ran out.

"What's goin' on?" Daryl said, readying his crossbow.

"Nothing, go back inside!" I shouted back, reloading.

"Who's that?" Glenn asked, pointing at Liam. "Wait, he looks exactly like…"

Another gunshot, close to Liam's ear.

"Hey, man, knock it off!" Daryl shouted.

"He tried to get in here, Daryl. We can't let him in."

Daryl ignored me, and T-dog threw him the keys. Walked towards the gate, and I couldn't do anything than to pull back my gun.

Liam looked shocked at me, and curious to Daryl, who stood on the other side of the fence.

"What's yer name?" Daryl asked.

"Liam."

"Last name?"

"Blutch, his name is Blutch" I shouted from up. Daryl snorted, and shook his head.

"That son of a bitch…"

_Michonne_

"Well, what did you find out?" I asked, as Andrea came into our apartment.

"Oh, I…I talked to Milton, about the school, and stuff" she said, smiling guilty.

"That's all?"

"And I gave Merle a map, so he can go find his brother."

"His brother?" I asked, sitting up.

"I used to be in the same group as his younger brother, Daryl" Andrea explained. "Long time ago, I have no idea where he is now, but I thought it might help him."

"Wait, that doesn't make sense" I said, standing up from the chair I was sitting on in the corner of the room. "You have this big desire of finding your friends, and you suddenly give the only thing that could help you find them away to a guy you haven't seen for…what, ten months?"

"Michonne, you don't understand…"

"No, I don't. There's something you're not telling me."

"I can't tell you" she sighed. "It's…complicated. It's not safe for you to know."

"Why would you give Merle a map of the location of the farm?"

"'Cause I want him to think he can trust me" she finally spit out.

"What?" I still didn't understand. "Why would you want that? Has this something to do with those people of yours being here?"

"I told you, I can't tell you!" Andrea went with a hand through her hair. "I need more time. Give me one more day, and when we finally get out of here, I will tell you everything. I promise."

"Andrea, no. I'm not playing this game. We are leaving today."

"Please, one more day" and she was literally begging. "That's all I need. I'll tell you everything, I promise."

I narrowed my eyes. She looked like a little girl begging for ice cream. This was ridiculous. I already gave her the time she needed, it was enough. The Governor is a no no, why couldn't she see that? And that Merle-guy, he was creepy as I don't know what. There's something wrong with all the people here.

But Andrea didn't care. All she wanted, is to get her old group back. Her old family. She now had a chance of making that wish come true. And what was I doing? Grabbing that chance right away from under her nose.

"Fine" I said. "You get one more day. But tomorrow, before noon, I'm gone."

_Liam_

I waited there, at the gate. The men from earlier went inside the prison, probably to debate with the others about what they should do with me. I was stunned by the aggression of the men with the gun. I wasn't scared of him, just…I just had a lot of sympathy for him. If he acted like this, he had gone through a lot.

On my journey through this new world, I've come across a lot of groups and a lot of different people. Some of them adapted the new world, and went crazy. Others tried to resist it, and kept on with their old life, until the dead came to get them. Others found ways to stay themselves, ways to survive and be human again.

I guessed this man was between the first two. And maybe a little of the third. He seemed crazy, but he did it to protect his group.

I thought that if he was like a family man, he probably wasn't as bad as he looked.

Finally, the door to the cellblock where the men had disappeared, was opened. I expected for the men to walk out again, but I was wrong. I had to blink my eyes a little for the unexpected that stood in the doorway.

It was a girl. A girl with light blonde hair. She looked like she was around seventeen or eighteen years old. She held a hand above her eyes, and looked at me. I saw them widen in shock. Why was everyone so shocked to see me? Was it because they hadn't seen a living person in so long, or because I'm ugly or something?

The girl walked down the steps, and the man with the crossbow followed her. The man stayed close, as the girl walked towards me. When there was only one foot between us, she stopped.

She looked at me from tip to toe, and a smile appeared on her face. "Yes, it's him. Definitely."

The man with the crossbow walked towards the lock, and grabbed the keys from his belt. I lifted my eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, I don't-"

"Shut up an'just get yer ass in here, before I change my mind" the man grumbled, but there was no dislike in his face. It seemed more like he was…joking. That confused me even more, but I stepped inside.

The girl looked at me, still with a smile. She held out her hand. "My name is Beth. You must be Liam."

I looked at the hand, hesitating. "Yeah, that's me. What's going on?"

Beth let down her hand, a little disappointed. "Well, let's just say you remember us of someone. We need to ask you some questions first, just to be sure."

I looked over my shoulder, where the crossbow guy stood, leaning against the gate with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Fine, what do you wanna know?" I said.

"Your last name is Blutch, right?" That question came as a slap in the face. What the hell did that have to do with this?

"Yes, so?"

"How old are you?"

"33, in a week is my 34th birthday, I think." Beth sighed, in a way you could feel she was satisfied, and I didn't know why.

"Do you have a younger brother?"

"Why do you wanna know that?" Questions about my family are not the ones I liked. My family had problems, it was complicated. A long story.

"So yah do have a brother called Ryan?" the man behind me asked. All my muscles in my body froze when he said that name. Why, why did he have to say that? I put my teeth on one another.

"What 'bout him?" I grumbled. Suddenly, the blonde girl let out a happy yell and jumped in the air. I accidently stepped back, on my injured leg, and almost fell.

"I'm so happy it's really you!" the girl said.

"What the hell?" These people were really option 1; out of their fucking mind. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and quickly turned around.

"Chill out, pussy, we're friends of him" crossbow man said, and I swear he almost grinned.

"Please, come inside, meet everyone!" Beth said, as she grabbed me by my arm. "I bet they're all excited to see you! You can tell us so much about him!"

"Wait, what?" Before I could say anything else, I was dragged inside the prison, with Daryl carrying my bags.

"I ain't yer piccolo forever, Monkey Man" he said, as he dropped my stuff at the entrance of the cellblock. I looked inside. Beth ran towards a bearded old man, with apparently one leg.

"See? It's really him!"

"I see, honey, I see." The man gave me a nod, which seemed full of respect. I didn't know what my baby brother did with these people, but he seemed loved by some and hated by others. There was a tanned guy somewhere in the corner of the room, who kept looking at me with these creepy narrowed eyes. There was an Asian guy, who looked suspicious, and absolutely didn't trust me at all. The girl who looked like an older version of Beth, but then with brown hair, had the same expression on her face. There also was a short haired woman, who seemed very emotional to see me. Next to her stood a woman with brown hair, and a really pregnant belly. She just had a pokerface, as if she didn't know what to think of Ryan, and felt the same about me. She had a hand on the shoulder of a boy, about thirteen years old. He wore a sheriff hat and carried a gun at his belt. He seemed really excited to see me, his blue eyes were shining bright from under the shadow of his hat.

Daryl walked passed me. "Welcome to the family."

I stood there as an idiot, not knowing what to say. Nice to know you met my idiotic brother who fucked up everyone's life on the planet. Great to hear he escaped from this hellhole, when I was looking for him.

"Everyone" Beth said as she stood up. "This is Liam, Ryan's older brother."

The short haired woman immediately stepped forward, her hand held out. "Nice to meet you. I'm Carol, a friend of your brother."

For once, I decided to trust these people. At least, I trusted this woman. She seemed friendly. I answered her hand, and shook it.

"Nice to meet you too, Carol" I said coldly. Carol's eyes looked over me, and stopped at my injured leg.

"O my god, are you hurt? Let me see." She touched the wound with her finger, and I grunted of pain. "I'm so sorry! Please, come inside! I can help you fix that."

"You sure that's a good idea" I said through my teeth. "Your hunter friend didn't like me that much."

"He's not here now" the old man said, standing up with the help of Beth and two crutches. "I can put a bandage on that."

"Uh, thanks, I guess…" I'm an idiot. Just like my brother.

_Andrea_

I looked around. I was unlucky, there were too many people on the streets. I looked over my shoulder at the small window just above the ground. There was still a light dancing inside of what seemed a basement.

Milton told me Ryan was here. He didn't say anything about Beth, but Ryan was here. Every time I looked at the small window, I had more and more the feeling he was in there. I didn't know why he would be in a basement all day long, but I hadn't seen him in all the days I had wandered around in the streets of Woodbury. He had to be in there.

I didn't tell Michonne about it, and I felt bad for her. Too many secrets, that's not good for a friendship like ours. I've learned that with the happenings on the farm. I trusted Ryan, and he still kept secrets from me and the others. Shane accused him of many things, some things I believed. But after what I saw with Ryan and Merle, I started to think more things Shane said were true.

I wondered where Shane would be at the moment. Did they found Randall? Did Shane and Rick stopped fighting, and be friends again? Did they all make it out alive?

Shane talked about leaving, perhaps he did. The fights with Rick were really getting intense.

And then there was the thing with Lori. I had my suspicious about them. Lori and Shane, it was just too obvious. When I confronted Lori with it, she didn't deny it.

I smiled at myself, and face palmed. How did I get to the point where I thought about the drama with my old group? There are much more things to think about, like staying alive. All the soap-drama was supposed to be a background to the real survival, but it seemed the other way around. The happenings got only intensified by the whole 'end of the world thing'.

I looked at the window again, and I almost jumped in the air when I saw a shadow quickly disappear. I kept looking at the glass, but it didn't appear again.

I turned around. So there _was_ someone in there. I was right. Ryan really was in the basement.

I had to talk to him. I had to ask him, about so many things. Why did he work with Merle? Why did he tell me not to trust him? Where was Beth? Where were the others?

I felt something at my shoulder. "Holy shit!"

I stood up from the pavement I was sitting on, and looked around. There was no one near to pat me on my shoulder. They were now just staring at me like I was crazy.

I put my hair back in place and took a deep breath. "Too many jumpscares today…"

My eyes then caught a small paper plane. It was as big as my thumb. I bent down, and carefully picked it off the ground. I looked at it in the palm of my hand, and noticed there were some letters written on it. I unfolded the small paper, and wrote the quick message.

_Don't come looking for me. Leave as soon as possible._

_R._


End file.
